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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. bass — low music
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. ball — a great time
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. bass — the fish
  7. bound — certain
  8. fall — the season
  9. ball — a dance
  10. court — of law
  11. fall — to drop
  12. stand — to bear
  13. bound — obliged
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. content — the amount
  18. stem — to come from
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. bound — tied together
  21. court — of a king
  22. court — for sport
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. content — happy

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