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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 116 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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. fall — to drop
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. content — happy
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. fall — the season
  7. content — the amount
  8. clip — for paper
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. rest — what's left
  11. fall — to drop
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. staff — employees
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. rest — a break
  16. row — a line
  17. row — to paddle
  18. clip — to cut
  19. clip — a video
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. staff — employees
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. staff — a stick
  24. leaves — of a tree

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