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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. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. clip — a video
  3. bank — for money
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. last — to go on
  6. pound — a weight
  7. fall — to drop
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. clip — for paper
  10. last — final
  11. fall — the season
  12. bank — for money
  13. spell — letters
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. cell — in biology
  16. last — finally
  17. fall — to drop
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. cell — a phone
  20. spell — magic
  21. bank — of a river
  22. spell — a short time
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. clip — to cut

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