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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: fall · wind · rest · clip · nail · mug · kid · stem

  1. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. clip — a video
  3. rest — what's left
  4. fall — to drop
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. clip — to cut
  7. rest — a break
  8. fall — to drop
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. mug — a face
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. rest — what's left
  13. kid — child
  14. stem — to come from
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. mug — to rob
  18. wind — moving air
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. kid — to tease
  21. mug — a cup
  22. clip — for paper
  23. wind — moving air
  24. wind — to turn a key

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