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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. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. fall — the season
  3. clip — a video
  4. rash — a series
  5. clip — for paper
  6. cap — a hat
  7. rash — hasty
  8. fall — to drop
  9. game — a match
  10. game — wild animals
  11. shower — to wash
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. prune — to trim
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. cap — of ice
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. prune — to trim
  20. shower — rain
  21. clip — to cut
  22. craft — a skill
  23. cap — a lid
  24. craft — boats

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