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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: cabinet · fall · last · clip · rock · kid · cold · pass

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. cold — an illness
  3. cold — not warm
  4. clip — to cut
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. clip — a video
  7. last — to go on
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. last — finally
  10. kid — to tease
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. rock — music
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. kid — child
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. fall — to drop
  18. pass — a permit
  19. rock — a stone
  20. clip — for paper
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. pass — to succeed
  23. last — final
  24. fall — the season

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