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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. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. When will it ________________ you to start?
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. suit — to fit
  3. field — farmland
  4. object — to protest
  5. field — for sport
  6. suit — in cards
  7. rock — music
  8. cold — not warm
  9. field — a subject
  10. court — of a king
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. land — ground
  13. object — a thing
  14. fall — to drop
  15. court — of law
  16. suit — clothes
  17. land — to come down
  18. fall — the season
  19. object — an aim
  20. land — a country
  21. rock — a stone
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. court — for sport
  24. cold — an illness

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