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

  1. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. hand — help
  4. fall — to drop
  5. cold — an illness
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. cold — not warm
  8. pass — a permit
  9. fall — the season
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. hand — in cards
  12. safe — a strongbox
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. tear — from crying
  16. fall — to drop
  17. tear — from crying
  18. tear — to rip

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