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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 120 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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. bound — obliged
  3. row — to paddle
  4. fall — to drop
  5. current — electric
  6. bound — certain
  7. march — music
  8. row — a line
  9. fall — the season
  10. vault — a safe
  11. bound — tied together
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. kick — in football
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. current — happening now
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. bat — the animal
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. march — the month
  22. march — the month
  23. current — of water
  24. kick — a thrill

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