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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. track — a song
  3. object — a thing
  4. fall — to drop
  5. clip — a video
  6. degree — from a university
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. track — to keep track
  9. track — a path
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. tear — from crying
  12. fall — the season
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. clip — for paper
  15. object — an aim
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. dip — to sink
  18. clip — to cut
  19. degree — temperature
  20. object — to protest
  21. plane — a tool
  22. degree — an amount
  23. tear — from crying
  24. tear — to rip

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