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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. fall — the season
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. hand — in cards
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. saw — the tool
  8. clip — for paper
  9. fall — to drop
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. shower — to wash
  13. saw — the tool
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. clip — a video
  16. bulb — for light
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. clip — to cut
  19. shower — rain
  20. fall — to drop
  21. bulb — for light
  22. bowl — a dish
  23. chair — a leader
  24. hand — part of the body

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