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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 polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. spell — a short time
  3. fall — the season
  4. wound — an injury
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. fall — to drop
  8. spell — letters
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. spell — magic
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. wound — an injury
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. clip — to cut
  15. sharp — clever
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. cap — a hat
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. clip — a video
  20. clip — for paper
  21. fall — to drop
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. cap — a lid
  24. leaves — lets stay

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