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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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. fall — to drop
  4. deal — to handle
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. hand — help
  9. fork — in a road
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. fall — the season
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. net — in sport
  15. net — after costs
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. lean — to bend
  18. clip — to cut
  19. hand — in cards
  20. net — for catching
  21. lean — thin
  22. clip — a video
  23. clip — for paper
  24. fall — to drop

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