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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: fall · rest · rock · face · lean · kid · court · wind

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. lean — to bend
  5. rest — what's left
  6. rest — a break
  7. face — to confront
  8. court — of a king
  9. face — to point toward
  10. wind — moving air
  11. kid — child
  12. face — part of the head
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. fall — to drop
  15. kid — to tease
  16. court — for sport
  17. wind — moving air
  18. court — of law
  19. lean — thin
  20. rock — music
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. rest — what's left
  23. fall — the season
  24. rock — a stone

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