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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. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. clip — for paper
  4. chest — of your body
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. clip — a video
  7. fall — to drop
  8. cap — of ice
  9. cap — a hat
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. firm — steady
  12. chest — a box
  13. chest — of your body
  14. clip — to cut
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. firm — decided
  17. cold — not warm
  18. cold — an illness
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. cap — a lid
  23. fall — to drop
  24. firm — a company

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