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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 116 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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. clip — a video
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. bound — certain
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. clip — for paper
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. lie — to recline
  11. clip — to cut
  12. snap — to click
  13. bound — obliged
  14. bound — tied together
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. fall — to drop
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. shower — to wash
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. fall — to drop
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. fall — the season
  24. shower — rain

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