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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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468
Word bank
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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 put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. fall — to drop
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. tube — a container
  8. clip — for paper
  9. clip — a video
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. fall — to drop
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. tube — the underground
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. fall — the season
  18. pound — a weight
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. clip — to cut
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. chair — a leader
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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