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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: ball · tube · toast · rock · wind · cap · chest · fall

  1. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. ball — a great time
  4. cap — a hat
  5. fall — to drop
  6. fall — to drop
  7. chest — of your body
  8. wind — moving air
  9. cap — of ice
  10. chest — a box
  11. toast — the most admired
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. ball — a dance
  14. tube — a container
  15. toast — bread
  16. cap — a lid
  17. tube — the underground
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. fall — the season
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. chest — of your body
  22. rock — a stone
  23. wind — moving air
  24. rock — music

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