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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 ball is in your ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  11. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. court — for sport
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. court — of law
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. fall — the season
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. court — of a king
  10. safe — a strongbox
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. fall — to drop
  15. cold — not warm
  16. current — happening now
  17. date — the fruit
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. current — of water
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. current — electric
  24. cold — an illness

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