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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: pit · fall · squash · leaves · lean · hide · chip · clip

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. lean — to bend
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. fall — to drop
  6. chip — to eat
  7. pit — in a race
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. chip — for betting
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. fall — the season
  12. pit — a hole
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. clip — a video
  15. lean — thin
  16. fall — to drop
  17. squash — to crush
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. clip — to cut
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. clip — for paper

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