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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. pop — music
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. dip — to sink
  5. cold — an illness
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. scale — size or range
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. row — a line
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. row — to paddle
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. pop — soda
  17. fall — to drop
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. fall — the season
  20. pop — to visit
  21. branch — a division
  22. scale — in music
  23. cold — not warm
  24. branch — of a bank

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