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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 116 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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. pound — a weight
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. clip — for paper
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. cold — not warm
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. firm — a company
  12. cell — a phone
  13. firm — decided
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. fall — to drop
  17. fall — the season
  18. fall — to drop
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. clip — a video
  21. cold — an illness
  22. cell — in biology
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. firm — steady

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