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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 124 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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. fall — to drop
  3. clip — to cut
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. chest — of your body
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. fall — to drop
  8. clip — a video
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. capital — money
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. track — a song
  15. capital — a city
  16. track — a path
  17. chip — for betting
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. chest — of your body
  20. chip — to eat
  21. clip — for paper
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. track — to keep track
  24. chest — a box

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