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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. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. fall — the season
  5. chip — to eat
  6. clip — a video
  7. kid — to tease
  8. wake — a trail
  9. band — a ring
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. fine — high quality
  14. clip — for paper
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. band — a music group
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. fall — to drop
  20. chip — for betting
  21. kid — child
  22. fine — all right
  23. clip — to cut
  24. band — a rubber band

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