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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. fall — to drop
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. cue — for pool
  5. hand — in cards
  6. cue — a hint
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. craft — a skill
  9. craft — boats
  10. spell — magic
  11. hand — help
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. cue — a signal
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. squash — to crush
  16. pound — a weight
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. sharp — clever
  21. squash — the sport
  22. fall — the season
  23. spell — letters
  24. spell — a short time

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