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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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. cue — a hint
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. chest — of your body
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. cue — for pool
  8. chest — a box
  9. fall — to drop
  10. net — in sport
  11. ball — a dance
  12. fall — the season
  13. wake — a trail
  14. net — for catching
  15. shower — to wash
  16. net — after costs
  17. chest — of your body
  18. cue — a signal
  19. ball — a great time
  20. shower — rain
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. deal — to handle
  24. wake — before a funeral

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