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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. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. bound — tied together
  4. pass — a permit
  5. bound — certain
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. hand — in cards
  9. pound — a weight
  10. bound — obliged
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. lie — to recline
  13. clip — a video
  14. fall — to drop
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. fall — the season
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. clip — to cut
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. clip — for paper
  24. hand — help

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