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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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. clip — to cut
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. fall — to drop
  5. swing — music
  6. mark — a grade
  7. court — of a king
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. court — for sport
  11. mark — a trace
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. tear — from crying
  14. clip — a video
  15. swing — in golf
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. court — of law
  18. swing — to play on
  19. tear — from crying
  20. tear — to rip
  21. fall — to drop
  22. clip — for paper
  23. bat — the animal
  24. foot — a measure

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