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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. tear — to rip
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. wind — moving air
  5. staff — a stick
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. fall — to drop
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. tear — from crying
  10. fall — the season
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. wind — moving air
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. staff — employees
  15. fall — to drop
  16. tear — from crying
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. staff — employees

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