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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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. mine — for digging
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. cell — in biology
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. court — of a king
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. root — the cause
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. root — of a plant
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. stand — to bear
  14. fall — to drop
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. court — of law
  17. cell — a phone
  18. fall — the season
  19. root — of a word
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. pound — a weight
  24. court — for sport

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