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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. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. When will it ________________ you to start?
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. chair — a leader
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. clip — to cut
  6. bore — to drill
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. clip — for paper
  9. suit — to fit
  10. stand — to bear
  11. kid — to tease
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. kid — child
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. stock — shares
  16. stock — goods
  17. clip — a video
  18. suit — in cards
  19. bore — to tire
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. suit — clothes
  22. fall — the season
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. fall — to drop

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