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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 124 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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. clip — to cut
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. clip — for paper
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. land — ground
  7. can — a tin
  8. land — to come down
  9. fall — to drop
  10. cell — a phone
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. pass — a permit
  13. can — a tin
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. cell — in biology
  17. can — to be able to
  18. fall — the season
  19. ball — a great time
  20. clip — a video
  21. land — a country
  22. saw — the tool
  23. ball — a dance
  24. saw — the tool

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