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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 120 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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. clip — for paper
  3. land — ground
  4. fall — to drop
  5. fork — in a road
  6. fall — the season
  7. clip — to cut
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. firm — decided
  11. land — to come down
  12. clip — a video
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. spring — a coil
  15. spring — the season
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. spring — of water
  18. vault — an arched ceiling
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. vault — a safe
  21. firm — a company
  22. land — a country
  23. firm — steady
  24. wax — to grow

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