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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. rest — a break
  3. fall — to drop
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. rush — hurry
  7. row — to paddle
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. rest — what's left
  10. dip — to sink
  11. row — a line
  12. mine — for digging
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. clip — for paper
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. clip — to cut
  17. fall — the season
  18. rest — what's left
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. fall — to drop
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. clip — a video
  24. row — a quarrel

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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