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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. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. present — there
  4. cap — a hat
  5. cap — a lid
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. ground — a position
  8. content — happy
  9. ground — the earth
  10. ground — crushed
  11. cap — of ice
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. bass — low music
  14. present — a gift
  15. present — the time now
  16. fall — to drop
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. fall — the season
  20. band — a ring
  21. bass — the fish
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. band — a music group
  24. content — the amount

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