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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. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. charge — electricity
  3. present — there
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. shower — rain
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. dip — to sink
  11. kick — in football
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. fall — the season
  14. charge — in control
  15. present — a gift
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. wind — moving air
  18. charge — a price
  19. fall — to drop
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. present — the time now
  22. shower — to wash
  23. wind — moving air
  24. kick — with a leg

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