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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. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. rest — what's left
  3. field — a subject
  4. field — farmland
  5. rest — what's left
  6. field — for sport
  7. cell — in biology
  8. clip — for paper
  9. fall — to drop
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. mark — a trace
  13. present — a gift
  14. clip — a video
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. fall — the season
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. present — the time now
  19. cell — a phone
  20. rest — a break
  21. mark — a grade
  22. clip — to cut
  23. present — there
  24. cell — in a prison

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