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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. clip — for paper
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. lean — thin
  5. track — a path
  6. clip — a video
  7. net — after costs
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. track — a song
  10. net — for catching
  11. march — the month
  12. clip — to cut
  13. net — in sport
  14. fall — to drop
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. lean — to bend
  17. march — music
  18. track — to keep track
  19. march — the month
  20. fall — the season
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. fall — to drop
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. season — in sport

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