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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. present — a gift
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. cold — an illness
  5. branch — a division
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. fall — to drop
  10. rock — music
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. present — there
  14. tube — the underground
  15. present — the time now
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. tube — a container
  19. cold — not warm
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. fall — the season
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. rock — a stone

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