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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. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. wake — a trail
  3. ball — a dance
  4. hand — help
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. scale — size or range
  7. band — a music group
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. fall — the season
  14. hand — in cards
  15. ball — a great time
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. scale — in music
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. fall — to drop
  22. band — a ring
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. trunk — of a tree

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