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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: kid · fall · chair · mouse · spring · fine · rock · foot

  1. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. kid — child
  3. kid — to tease
  4. spring — the season
  5. rock — music
  6. fine — high quality
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. chair — a leader
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. spring — a coil
  11. rock — a stone
  12. foot — a measure
  13. fall — the season
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. fall — to drop
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. fine — all right
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. spring — of water
  24. foot — part of the body

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