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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. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. clip — for paper
  4. press — to push
  5. ground — crushed
  6. press — newspapers
  7. foot — a measure
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. spring — the season
  11. press — a publisher
  12. vault — a safe
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. ground — a position
  15. fall — to drop
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. dip — to sink
  18. clip — to cut
  19. ground — the earth
  20. clip — a video
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. fall — the season
  23. spring — a coil
  24. spring — of water

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