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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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. fall — the season
  4. fall — to drop
  5. can — a tin
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. clip — to cut
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. net — after costs
  10. net — in sport
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. fall — to drop
  15. can — to be able to
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. clip — for paper
  18. roll — a list
  19. can — a tin
  20. wind — moving air
  21. wind — moving air
  22. clip — a video
  23. net — for catching
  24. branch — a division

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