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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 116 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 asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. spell — magic
  3. tear — to rip
  4. court — of a king
  5. court — for sport
  6. ball — a great time
  7. spell — letters
  8. rest — what's left
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. fall — to drop
  11. fall — the season
  12. tear — from crying
  13. rest — a break
  14. snap — to click
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. ball — a dance
  17. plane — a tool
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. court — of law
  22. spell — a short time
  23. rest — what's left
  24. tear — from crying

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