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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. fall — to drop
  3. fall — to drop
  4. plane — a tool
  5. pop — music
  6. ground — crushed
  7. band — a music group
  8. ground — a position
  9. branch — a division
  10. pop — soda
  11. ground — the earth
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. band — a ring
  16. pass — a permit
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. pass — to succeed
  20. pop — to visit
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. fall — the season
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. pass — to spend time

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