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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. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. spring — a coil
  3. pit — a hole
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. fall — to drop
  6. last — to go on
  7. spring — the season
  8. press — a publisher
  9. pit — in a race
  10. clip — for paper
  11. kid — child
  12. fall — the season
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. press — newspapers
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. clip — a video
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. clip — to cut
  19. last — finally
  20. kid — to tease
  21. spring — of water
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. press — to push
  24. last — final

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