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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. ground — crushed
  3. fall — to drop
  4. bass — low music
  5. ground — a position
  6. last — finally
  7. game — wild animals
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. mug — a face
  11. last — to go on
  12. mug — to rob
  13. clip — for paper
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. mug — a cup
  16. lie — to recline
  17. clip — a video
  18. last — final
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. fall — to drop
  21. bass — the fish
  22. ground — the earth
  23. clip — to cut
  24. game — a match

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