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

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. cap — a lid
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. charge — a price
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. cap — of ice
  7. charge — in control
  8. clip — to cut
  9. cue — a signal
  10. fall — the season
  11. cap — a hat
  12. clip — for paper
  13. cold — not warm
  14. cue — a hint
  15. clip — a video
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. charge — electricity
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. cold — an illness
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. vault — a safe
  23. fall — to drop
  24. cue — for pool

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