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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. clip — to cut
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. clip — a video
  5. mark — a grade
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. mark — a trace
  8. scale — in music
  9. stand — to bear
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. fall — to drop
  12. fall — to drop
  13. clip — for paper
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. chair — a leader
  17. fall — the season
  18. scale — size or range

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