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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. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. cell — a phone
  4. fall — to drop
  5. object — an aim
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. fall — the season
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. cell — in biology
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. squash — the sport
  14. object — to protest
  15. land — ground
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. object — a thing
  18. squash — to crush
  19. wake — a trail
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. land — a country
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. land — to come down

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