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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. When will it ________________ you to start?
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. suit — in cards
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. cell — in biology
  5. rash — a series
  6. suit — clothes
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. fall — the season
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. rash — hasty
  11. bear — the animal
  12. bear — the animal
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. clip — a video
  16. suit — to fit
  17. cell — a phone
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. clip — to cut
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. kick — in football
  23. fall — to drop
  24. fall — to drop

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