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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. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. fall — the season
  4. sharp — clever
  5. clip — to cut
  6. fall — to drop
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. clip — a video
  9. lean — thin
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. cold — an illness
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. wake — a trail
  15. cue — a hint
  16. cue — for pool
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. clip — for paper
  19. lean — to bend
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. cue — a signal
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. cold — not warm

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