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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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. When will it ________________ you to start?
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  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. clip — for paper
  2. firm — decided
  3. firm — a company
  4. land — a country
  5. suit — in cards
  6. clip — to cut
  7. land — to come down
  8. ground — the earth
  9. suit — to fit
  10. ground — a position
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. fall — to drop
  13. pound — a weight
  14. fall — to drop
  15. land — ground
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. firm — steady
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. suit — clothes
  21. ground — crushed
  22. clip — a video
  23. wake — a trail
  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