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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. kid — child
  4. stem — to come from
  5. clip — a video
  6. net — in sport
  7. clip — for paper
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. lean — to bend
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. net — after costs
  14. fall — to drop
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. cap — a lid
  18. cap — of ice
  19. net — for catching
  20. clip — to cut
  21. lean — thin
  22. fall — to drop
  23. kid — to tease
  24. cap — a hat

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