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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. When will it ________________ you to start?
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  15. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. march — music
  3. suit — to fit
  4. fall — the season
  5. kid — child
  6. clip — to cut
  7. march — the month
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. clip — for paper
  10. fall — to drop
  11. clip — a video
  12. chip — for betting
  13. march — the month
  14. suit — in cards
  15. suit — clothes
  16. mark — a trace
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. mark — a grade
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. kid — to tease
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. chip — to eat
  24. fork — in a road

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