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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 old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. staff — a stick
  3. current — electric
  4. present — there
  5. band — a music group
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. staff — employees
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. fall — to drop
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. current — of water
  12. staff — employees
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. spell — letters
  15. band — a ring
  16. fork — in a road
  17. current — happening now
  18. spell — magic
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. bat — the animal
  21. present — a gift
  22. fall — the season
  23. spell — a short time
  24. present — the time now

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