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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 120 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 asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. file — a line of people
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. fall — to drop
  6. clip — for paper
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. clip — to cut
  9. file — a document
  10. file — a tool
  11. spell — letters
  12. fall — the season
  13. club — for golf
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. spell — a short time
  16. clip — a video
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. club — for dancing
  19. fall — to drop
  20. club — a group
  21. degree — from a university
  22. degree — temperature
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. degree — an amount

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