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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 112 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. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  23. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. staff — employees
  4. staff — a stick
  5. clip — a video
  6. fall — to drop
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. staff — employees
  9. clip — to cut
  10. bass — the fish
  11. fall — to drop
  12. cold — an illness
  13. cold — not warm
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. bass — low music
  18. bank — of a river
  19. fall — the season
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. lie — to recline
  22. bank — for money
  23. bank — for money
  24. snap — to click

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