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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 116 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 haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. fall — to drop
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. face — to point toward
  6. face — to confront
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. face — part of the head
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. cap — a hat
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. saw — the tool
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. game — a match
  17. saw — the tool
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. cap — a lid
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. fall — the season
  22. cap — of ice
  23. game — wild animals
  24. nail — on a finger

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