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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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. drill — the tool
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. snap — to click
  6. clip — a video
  7. ground — crushed
  8. press — newspapers
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. press — to push
  11. shower — to wash
  12. clip — to cut
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. drill — army training
  15. drill — a practice
  16. ground — a position
  17. ground — the earth
  18. clip — for paper
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. shower — rain
  21. press — a publisher
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. fall — to drop
  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