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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: plane · foot · tear · bound · march · dip · fall · fan

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. 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. fall — to drop
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. march — music
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. bound — certain
  7. foot — a measure
  8. dip — to sink
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. fall — to drop
  12. tear — from crying
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. fall — the season
  15. bound — tied together
  16. march — the month
  17. bound — obliged
  18. tear — from crying
  19. tear — to rip
  20. plane — a tool
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. 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