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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.

Make a worksheet

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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. tear — from crying
  7. fall — the season
  8. lash — a whip stroke
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. wake — a trail
  11. scale — size or range
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. tear — to rip
  15. scale — in music
  16. tear — from crying
  17. fall — to drop
  18. mine — for digging

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