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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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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: wind · fall · calf · clip · deal · stick · file · pass

  1. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. file — a tool
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. clip — to cut
  5. fall — to drop
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. wind — moving air
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. file — a line of people
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. pass — a permit
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. fall — to drop
  17. fall — the season
  18. wind — moving air
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. file — a document
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. clip — for paper
  23. deal — to handle
  24. clip — a video

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