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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: present · fall · club · ball · tube · rest · wind · ground

  1. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. wind — moving air
  3. ground — crushed
  4. ground — the earth
  5. ball — a dance
  6. rest — what's left
  7. tube — a container
  8. present — a gift
  9. tube — the underground
  10. club — for dancing
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. wind — moving air
  14. fall — the season
  15. fall — to drop
  16. present — there
  17. rest — a break
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. present — the time now
  20. fall — to drop
  21. club — for golf
  22. club — a group
  23. ground — a position
  24. rest — what's left

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