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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 always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. fall — the season
  4. fall — to drop
  5. clip — to cut
  6. court — for sport
  7. spring — a coil
  8. clip — a video
  9. court — of a king
  10. prune — to trim
  11. spring — the season
  12. clip — for paper
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. fall — to drop
  16. court — of law
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. prune — to trim
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. rash — a series
  23. spring — of water
  24. rash — hasty

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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