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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. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. file — a tool
  3. fall — to drop
  4. clip — a video
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. date — the fruit
  9. clip — for paper
  10. fall — to drop
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. fall — the season
  13. clip — to cut
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. sharp — clever
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. file — a document
  22. stand — to bear
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. file — a line of people

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