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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 had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. clip — to cut
  3. clip — a video
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. fall — to drop
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. fall — to drop
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. fall — the season
  10. stem — to come from
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. shower — rain
  15. clip — for paper
  16. shower — to wash
  17. content — happy
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. content — the amount
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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