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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. spring — a coil
  3. spring — the season
  4. fall — to drop
  5. last — final
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. dip — to sink
  8. clip — a video
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. fall — the season
  12. last — finally
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. spring — of water
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. clip — for paper
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. last — to go on
  22. clip — to cut
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. fall — to drop

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