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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  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. fall — the season
  2. chest — of your body
  3. file — a tool
  4. fall — to drop
  5. can — a tin
  6. content — the amount
  7. file — a document
  8. chest — of your body
  9. clip — for paper
  10. pass — a permit
  11. clip — to cut
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. fall — to drop
  16. rush — hurry
  17. chest — a box
  18. file — a line of people
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. content — happy
  21. can — to be able to
  22. can — a tin
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. clip — a video

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