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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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  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. rest — what's left
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. fall — to drop
  4. rest — a break
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. clip — a video
  7. object — to protest
  8. bark — to shout
  9. rest — what's left
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. clip — for paper
  12. row — to paddle
  13. object — a thing
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. pound — a weight
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. object — an aim
  19. row — a line
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. fall — to drop
  22. clip — to cut
  23. chair — a leader
  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