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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. swing — music
  3. tube — the underground
  4. fall — to drop
  5. swing — in golf
  6. clip — for paper
  7. bark — of a tree
  8. clip — to cut
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. bark — to shout
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. tube — a container
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. lean — to bend
  15. chair — a leader
  16. swing — to play on
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. stem — to come from
  20. clip — a video
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. lean — thin
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. fall — to drop

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