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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. ball — a great time
  3. ball — a dance
  4. chest — a box
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. chest — of your body
  7. charge — a price
  8. wake — a trail
  9. swing — in golf
  10. cap — a lid
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. cell — a phone
  13. cap — a hat
  14. cell — in biology
  15. cap — of ice
  16. charge — electricity
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. swing — music
  19. swing — to play on
  20. fall — to drop
  21. fall — the season
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. charge — in control
  24. chest — of your body

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