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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. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. kid — to tease
  3. wind — moving air
  4. mug — a cup
  5. mug — a face
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. lean — thin
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. lean — to bend
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. bark — to shout
  13. field — farmland
  14. wind — moving air
  15. kid — child
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. field — a subject
  18. fall — the season
  19. fall — to drop
  20. fall — to drop
  21. field — for sport
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. mug — to rob

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