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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. net — for catching
  7. cold — not warm
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. fall — the season
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. fall — to drop
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. bark — to shout
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. wake — a trail
  18. firm — steady
  19. cold — an illness
  20. net — in sport
  21. net — after costs
  22. firm — decided
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. firm — a company

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