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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 120 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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. fall — to drop
  3. bore — to tire
  4. sharp — clever
  5. fall — to drop
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. clip — to cut
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. object — to protest
  11. clip — a video
  12. race — a contest
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. object — a thing
  15. race — humankind
  16. race — the arms race
  17. game — a match
  18. clip — for paper
  19. chair — a leader
  20. fall — the season
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. game — wild animals
  24. bore — to drill

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