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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. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. scale — in music
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. clip — to cut
  5. clip — for paper
  6. march — music
  7. hand — in cards
  8. pitch — completely
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. fall — to drop
  11. march — the month
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. fall — the season
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. deal — to handle
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. scale — size or range
  20. pass — a permit
  21. march — the month
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. hand — help
  24. clip — a video

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