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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. cap — a lid
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. cap — of ice
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. rock — a stone
  8. wind — moving air
  9. clip — a video
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. clip — to cut
  15. rock — music
  16. ball — a great time
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. wind — moving air
  19. clip — for paper
  20. ball — a dance
  21. cap — a hat
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. fall — to drop
  24. fall — the season

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