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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 120 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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. squash — the sport
  4. land — to come down
  5. fall — to drop
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. land — a country
  8. land — ground
  9. fine — all right
  10. present — there
  11. hand — in cards
  12. squash — to crush
  13. hand — help
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. lean — to bend
  17. fall — to drop
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. present — the time now
  20. present — a gift
  21. fine — high quality
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. lean — thin
  24. fall — the season

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