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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: bay · racket · clip · ground · scale · fall · ruler · cold

  1. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. fall — the season
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. scale — size or range
  5. cold — not warm
  6. scale — in music
  7. clip — a video
  8. fall — to drop
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. fall — to drop
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. ground — a position
  14. ground — crushed
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. cold — an illness
  18. clip — for paper
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. ground — the earth
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. clip — to cut

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