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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. shower — to wash
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. court — of law
  5. fall — to drop
  6. court — for sport
  7. rush — hurry
  8. prune — to trim
  9. file — a tool
  10. snap — to click
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. shower — rain
  13. firm — steady
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. firm — decided
  16. prune — to trim
  17. file — a line of people
  18. court — of a king
  19. file — a document
  20. fall — the season
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. firm — a company
  24. prune — the fruit

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