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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. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. lean — to bend
  6. fall — to drop
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. fall — to drop
  9. fall — the season
  10. firm — a company
  11. clip — for paper
  12. court — of a king
  13. lean — thin
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. court — for sport
  16. scale — size or range
  17. firm — decided
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. clip — a video
  20. court — of law
  21. scale — in music
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. clip — to cut

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