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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. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. squash — to crush
  3. clip — a video
  4. swing — music
  5. clip — for paper
  6. fall — the season
  7. court — of law
  8. squash — the sport
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. clip — to cut
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. fall — to drop
  18. swing — to play on
  19. swing — in golf
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. court — for sport
  23. court — of a king
  24. patient — a sick person

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