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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. fall — to drop
  3. charge — in control
  4. chest — of your body
  5. charge — a price
  6. pop — to visit
  7. chest — of your body
  8. shower — to wash
  9. pop — music
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. pop — soda
  12. swing — music
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. fall — the season
  16. charge — electricity
  17. shower — rain
  18. bear — the animal
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. bear — the animal
  21. swing — to play on
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. chest — a box
  24. swing — in golf

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com