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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. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. wind — moving air
  3. bass — low music
  4. bass — the fish
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. mark — a trace
  7. fork — in a road
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. clip — to cut
  10. fall — to drop
  11. clip — a video
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. branch — a division
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. wind — moving air
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. mark — a grade
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. clip — for paper
  24. fall — the season

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