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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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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: lean · present · cold · fall · rush · scale · firm · net

  1. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. firm — decided
  3. cold — not warm
  4. present — a gift
  5. fall — to drop
  6. firm — a company
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. scale — size or range
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. net — after costs
  12. cold — an illness
  13. rush — hurry
  14. present — there
  15. net — in sport
  16. lean — to bend
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. fall — the season
  19. scale — in music
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. lean — thin
  22. present — the time now
  23. firm — steady
  24. net — for catching

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