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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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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. cabinet — ministers
  4. staff — a stick
  5. fall — to drop
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. fall — the season
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. file — a line of people
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. pass — a permit
  15. staff — employees
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. file — a tool
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. bat — the animal
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. file — a document

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