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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: fall · hide · lie · march · lean · pop

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. fall — to drop
  3. fall — to drop
  4. pop — to visit
  5. lie — to recline
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. march — music
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. march — the month
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. pop — music
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. lean — thin
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. pop — soda
  17. fall — the season
  18. march — the month

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