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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 116 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. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. fall — to drop
  6. mine — for digging
  7. tear — from crying
  8. race — a contest
  9. race — humankind
  10. tear — from crying
  11. wind — moving air
  12. fall — to drop
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. wind — moving air
  15. mark — a trace
  16. tear — to rip
  17. race — the arms race
  18. fall — the season

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