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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. lean — thin
  3. track — to keep track
  4. clip — a video
  5. fall — to drop
  6. clip — to cut
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. lean — to bend
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. bear — the animal
  13. track — a song
  14. bear — the animal
  15. pound — a weight
  16. clip — for paper
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. vault — a safe
  21. fall — to drop
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. track — a path
  24. trunk — of a car

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