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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. fall — to drop
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. pass — to spend time
  5. fall — to drop
  6. rest — what's left
  7. present — the time now
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. fall — the season
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. content — happy
  12. present — there
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. cell — a phone
  16. present — a gift
  17. cell — in biology
  18. pass — a permit
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. rest — what's left
  22. dip — to sink
  23. rest — a break
  24. nail — for a hammer

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