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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. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. face — to confront
  4. cell — in biology
  5. spell — magic
  6. object — a thing
  7. face — to point toward
  8. firm — a company
  9. object — to protest
  10. firm — decided
  11. spell — letters
  12. fall — the season
  13. rash — a series
  14. cell — a phone
  15. face — part of the head
  16. object — an aim
  17. firm — steady
  18. fall — to drop
  19. rash — hasty
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. spell — a short time
  22. spring — a coil
  23. spring — the season
  24. spring — of water

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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