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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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Word bank
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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: stand · fall · hand · bore · shower · clip · kick · bay

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. clip — for paper
  3. stand — to bear
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. bore — to tire
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. clip — to cut
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. shower — rain
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. kick — in football
  14. fall — the season
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. bore — to drill
  17. fall — to drop
  18. shower — to wash
  19. clip — a video
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. hand — in cards
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. hand — help

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