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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. net — in sport
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. net — for catching
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. lean — to bend
  8. cap — of ice
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. lean — thin
  11. bat — the animal
  12. row — to paddle
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. race — the arms race
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. race — humankind
  17. net — after costs
  18. row — a line
  19. fall — to drop
  20. cap — a hat
  21. race — a contest
  22. fall — to drop
  23. cap — a lid
  24. leaves — 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