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

Word bank: fall · cap · season · bay · chest · wind · bat · firm

  1. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. chest — of your body
  3. season — in sport
  4. wind — moving air
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. bat — the animal
  8. cap — a hat
  9. firm — a company
  10. cap — of ice
  11. chest — of your body
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. firm — decided
  15. chest — a box
  16. wind — moving air
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. cap — a lid
  19. fall — to drop
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. season — of the year
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. firm — steady
  24. fall — to drop

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