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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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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. fall — to drop
  3. clip — a video
  4. foot — a measure
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. clip — to cut
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. drill — a practice
  9. fall — to drop
  10. swing — to play on
  11. mug — to rob
  12. game — wild animals
  13. drill — army training
  14. swing — music
  15. content — happy
  16. clip — for paper
  17. fall — the season
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. mug — a cup
  20. swing — in golf
  21. content — the amount
  22. game — a match
  23. mug — a face
  24. drill — the tool

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