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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 120 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's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. band — a music group
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. rock — a stone
  5. march — the month
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. fall — the season
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. band — a ring
  12. march — music
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. march — the month
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. wake — a trail
  17. rock — music
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. cell — a phone
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. fall — to drop
  22. cell — in biology
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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