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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. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. fall — to drop
  3. present — the time now
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. bat — the animal
  6. key — the most important part
  7. drill — army training
  8. chest — of your body
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. present — there
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. march — music
  13. march — the month
  14. march — the month
  15. key — for a lock
  16. fall — the season
  17. fall — to drop
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. chest — a box
  20. chest — of your body
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. drill — a practice
  23. drill — the tool
  24. present — a gift

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