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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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. clip — to cut
  4. clip — a video
  5. clip — for paper
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. wound — an injury
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. rest — a break
  10. fall — to drop
  11. court — of law
  12. court — for sport
  13. lean — thin
  14. court — of a king
  15. fall — the season
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. wound — an injury
  18. rest — what's left
  19. spell — a short time
  20. spell — letters
  21. lean — to bend
  22. spell — magic
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. fall — to drop

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