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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  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. fall — the season
  2. fall — to drop
  3. drill — a practice
  4. clip — to cut
  5. shower — to wash
  6. clip — a video
  7. drill — the tool
  8. lean — to bend
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. swing — in golf
  11. swing — to play on
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. court — of a king
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. shower — rain
  17. clip — for paper
  18. drill — army training
  19. court — for sport
  20. lean — thin
  21. court — of law
  22. deal — to handle
  23. swing — music
  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