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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. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. game — a match
  3. net — after costs
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. pitch — completely
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. content — the amount
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. fall — the season
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. content — happy
  14. game — wild animals
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. fall — to drop
  18. net — for catching
  19. fork — in a road
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. deal — to handle
  24. net — in sport

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