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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. race — a contest
  3. tear — from crying
  4. clip — to cut
  5. rest — what's left
  6. race — the arms race
  7. fall — the season
  8. fall — to drop
  9. tear — to rip
  10. board — a committee
  11. tear — from crying
  12. current — happening now
  13. current — electric
  14. race — humankind
  15. sharp — clever
  16. rest — a break
  17. clip — a video
  18. rest — what's left
  19. clip — for paper
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. board — to get on
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. current — of water

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