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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. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — the bottom
  2. fall — to drop
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. object — to protest
  5. fall — the season
  6. object — a thing
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. present — a gift
  10. net — after costs
  11. wind — moving air
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. present — there
  14. kid — to tease
  15. wind — moving air
  16. object — an aim
  17. net — in sport
  18. fall — to drop
  19. stand — to bear
  20. net — for catching
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. foot — a measure
  23. present — the time now
  24. kid — child

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