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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. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. fall — the season
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. clip — a video
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. sharp — clever
  10. fine — all right
  11. fine — high quality
  12. capital — money
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. fall — to drop
  15. clip — to cut
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. capital — a city
  18. clip — for paper

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