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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 124 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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. clip — a video
  3. present — the time now
  4. fall — to drop
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. march — the month
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. wake — a trail
  12. present — a gift
  13. lean — thin
  14. present — there
  15. scale — size or range
  16. march — the month
  17. clip — for paper
  18. march — music
  19. lean — to bend
  20. fall — to drop
  21. scale — in music
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. fall — the season
  24. ruler — a monarch

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