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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. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. chip — for betting
  3. clip — to cut
  4. bass — low music
  5. roll — a cake
  6. march — the month
  7. march — music
  8. clip — a video
  9. roll — a list
  10. fall — to drop
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. jam — in traffic
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. bass — the fish
  15. fall — the season
  16. march — the month
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. rash — a series
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. jam — to spread on bread
  22. chip — to eat
  23. clip — for paper
  24. rash — hasty

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