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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. clip — for paper
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. bark — to shout
  5. game — a match
  6. fall — the season
  7. fall — to drop
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. game — wild animals
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. stand — to bear
  15. fall — to drop
  16. land — a country
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. land — ground
  19. clip — a video
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. clip — to cut
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. rush — hurry

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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