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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 all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. fall — to drop
  3. swing — to play on
  4. track — a song
  5. chest — a box
  6. clip — to cut
  7. fall — to drop
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. pitch — completely
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. track — to keep track
  13. swing — music
  14. chest — of your body
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. fall — the season
  17. chest — of your body
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. clip — for paper
  22. clip — a video
  23. track — a path
  24. swing — in golf

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