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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. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. bear — the animal
  3. fall — to drop
  4. charge — a price
  5. pop — to visit
  6. pop — soda
  7. fall — the season
  8. charge — in control
  9. spring — of water
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. clip — to cut
  12. spring — a coil
  13. face — to point toward
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. pop — music
  16. face — to confront
  17. bear — the animal
  18. fall — to drop
  19. spring — the season
  20. charge — electricity
  21. roll — a list
  22. clip — for paper
  23. face — part of the head
  24. clip — a video

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