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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. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. court — of a king
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. court — for sport
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. lean — thin
  8. fall — to drop
  9. saw — the tool
  10. last — final
  11. last — to go on
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. wind — moving air
  14. fall — the season
  15. saw — the tool
  16. court — of law
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. fall — to drop
  22. last — finally
  23. wind — moving air
  24. lean — to bend

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