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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. pass — to spend time
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. field — a subject
  5. band — a music group
  6. band — a ring
  7. game — a match
  8. clip — for paper
  9. field — for sport
  10. swing — in golf
  11. pass — a permit
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. fall — to drop
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. clip — to cut
  17. game — wild animals
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. fall — the season
  20. field — farmland
  21. swing — to play on
  22. clip — a video
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. swing — music

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