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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. fork — in a road
  3. fall — to drop
  4. rest — what's left
  5. face — to confront
  6. spring — the season
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. fall — to drop
  9. face — part of the head
  10. race — a contest
  11. clip — a video
  12. shower — rain
  13. race — the arms race
  14. rest — what's left
  15. shower — to wash
  16. clip — for paper
  17. spring — of water
  18. clip — to cut
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. rest — a break
  22. race — humankind
  23. face — to point toward
  24. fall — the season

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