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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 120 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: suit · hand · clip · pound · face · game · cabinet · fall

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. When will it ________________ you to start?
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. suit — in cards
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. game — a match
  6. face — to point toward
  7. fall — to drop
  8. clip — a video
  9. fall — to drop
  10. face — part of the head
  11. game — wild animals
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. suit — to fit
  14. fall — the season
  15. pound — a weight
  16. hand — help
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. suit — clothes
  19. clip — to cut
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. face — to confront
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. hand — in cards

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