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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. chip — to eat
  7. wind — moving air
  8. pit — in a race
  9. wind — moving air
  10. fall — the season
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. fall — to drop
  13. scale — size or range
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. chip — for betting
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. scale — in music
  20. bat — the animal
  21. pit — a hole
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. foot — a measure

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