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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. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. fall — the season
  4. rash — a series
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. toast — bread
  8. clip — to cut
  9. bore — to drill
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. fall — to drop
  12. degree — temperature
  13. chip — for betting
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. clip — a video
  16. rash — hasty
  17. bore — to tire
  18. clip — for paper
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. degree — from a university
  21. chair — a leader
  22. toast — the most admired
  23. degree — an amount
  24. chip — to eat

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