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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. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. chip — for betting
  3. present — a gift
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. chip — to eat
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. rash — a series
  9. present — there
  10. shower — to wash
  11. present — the time now
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. shower — rain
  16. fall — the season
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. pound — a weight
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. rash — hasty
  22. fall — to drop
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. sharp — clever

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