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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. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. staff — employees
  3. perch — the fish
  4. wind — moving air
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. root — of a word
  7. march — the month
  8. present — there
  9. face — part of the head
  10. wind — moving air
  11. staff — employees
  12. staff — a stick
  13. present — the time now
  14. root — of a plant
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. fall — the season
  17. face — to point toward
  18. root — the cause
  19. march — music
  20. fall — to drop
  21. march — the month
  22. present — a gift
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. face — to confront

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