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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: fall · rock · mate · bear · march · dip · clip · chair

  1. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  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. bear — to put up with
  2. mate — to breed
  3. fall — to drop
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. rock — a stone
  6. fall — the season
  7. mate — a partner
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. clip — for paper
  10. clip — to cut
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. chair — a leader
  13. dip — to sink
  14. bear — the animal
  15. bear — the animal
  16. march — the month
  17. rock — music
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. fall — to drop
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. march — music
  22. mate — a friend
  23. march — the month
  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