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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. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. fall — to drop
  5. clip — to cut
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. file — a line of people
  8. lean — to bend
  9. lean — thin
  10. fall — the season
  11. clip — a video
  12. kid — to tease
  13. file — a tool
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. wax — to grow
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. clip — for paper
  20. kid — child
  21. pitch — completely
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. file — a document

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