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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. fall — to drop
  3. fall — the season
  4. net — for catching
  5. capital — money
  6. clip — a video
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. clip — for paper
  10. chair — a leader
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. bark — to shout
  13. rest — what's left
  14. clip — to cut
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. net — after costs
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. net — in sport
  20. capital — a city
  21. rest — what's left
  22. rest — a break
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. bowl — a dish

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