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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. rash — a series
  3. capital — a city
  4. drill — army training
  5. fall — to drop
  6. chip — for betting
  7. clip — a video
  8. clip — for paper
  9. chip — to eat
  10. board — a committee
  11. drill — the tool
  12. stand — to bear
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. drill — a practice
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. clip — to cut
  19. rash — hasty
  20. fall — to drop
  21. board — to get on
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. capital — money
  24. stand — on your feet

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