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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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468
Word bank
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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. pass — to spend time
  4. fall — the season
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. clip — to cut
  8. cold — not warm
  9. pass — a permit
  10. clip — a video
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. fall — to drop
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. kick — in football
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. cold — an illness
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. lie — to recline
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. clip — for paper
  22. fall — to drop
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. lie — an untruth

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