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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. wound — an injury
  3. ground — a position
  4. bat — the animal
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. fall — to drop
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. safe — a strongbox
  11. ground — the earth
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. kid — to tease
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. fall — the season
  17. wound — an injury
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. kid — child
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. pitch — completely
  24. ground — crushed

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