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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. fall — to drop
  6. fall — to drop
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. cold — not warm
  13. cold — an illness
  14. chip — for betting
  15. prune — to trim
  16. fall — the season
  17. prune — to trim
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. clip — a video
  20. clip — to cut
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. stand — to bear
  23. chip — to eat
  24. pound — a weight

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