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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 124 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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. kid — child
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. cell — a phone
  5. craft — boats
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. face — to confront
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. fall — to drop
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. fork — in a road
  12. face — to point toward
  13. craft — a skill
  14. kid — to tease
  15. chest — a box
  16. fall — the season
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. face — part of the head
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. cell — in biology
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. chest — of your body
  23. chest — of your body
  24. fork — to eat with

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