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

Word bank: toast · club · calf · pound · cold · lean · fall · hand

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  16. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. pound — a weight
  3. cold — not warm
  4. club — for dancing
  5. fall — to drop
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. hand — in cards
  8. fall — the season
  9. lean — to bend
  10. hand — help
  11. club — a group
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. toast — the most admired
  16. toast — a drink to someone
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. club — for golf
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. toast — bread
  21. lean — thin
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. cold — an illness
  24. pound — for dogs

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