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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. clip — for paper
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. fall — to drop
  6. pound — a weight
  7. fall — to drop
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. fine — all right
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. cold — an illness
  13. clip — a video
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. fall — the season
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. cold — not warm
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. fine — high quality

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