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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: pound · lie · leaves · kid · club · pitcher · bear · fall

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. lie — to recline
  3. bear — the animal
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. club — for dancing
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. pound — a weight
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. kid — to tease
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. fall — the season
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. club — a group
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. kid — child
  20. bear — the animal
  21. club — for golf
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  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