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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 116 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. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. charge — a price
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. face — to confront
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. track — to keep track
  8. track — a song
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. clip — to cut
  11. chip — for betting
  12. face — part of the head
  13. clip — for paper
  14. clip — a video
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. wound — an injury
  17. fall — the season
  18. charge — in control
  19. fall — to drop
  20. track — a path
  21. chip — to eat
  22. charge — electricity
  23. wound — an injury
  24. face — to point toward

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