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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. fall — to drop
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. wind — moving air
  6. row — a line
  7. can — to be able to
  8. face — part of the head
  9. wind — moving air
  10. tube — a container
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. game — a match
  13. can — a tin
  14. charge — in control
  15. fall — to drop
  16. face — to point toward
  17. fall — the season
  18. row — to paddle
  19. can — a tin
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. charge — a price
  22. face — to confront
  23. charge — electricity
  24. game — wild animals

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