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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. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. present — the time now
  3. saw — the tool
  4. present — there
  5. present — a gift
  6. scale — in music
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. clip — a video
  11. clip — to cut
  12. saw — the tool
  13. clip — for paper
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. fall — the season
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. pitch — completely
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. scale — size or range
  23. fall — to drop
  24. scale — for weighing

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