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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. fall — to drop
  3. key — the most important part
  4. bat — the animal
  5. clip — a video
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. key — for a lock
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. fall — the season
  10. clip — to cut
  11. key — in music
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. perch — the fish
  16. mug — a cup
  17. mug — to rob
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. clip — for paper
  23. mug — a face
  24. dip — to sink

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