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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. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. 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. bound — tied together
  2. fall — the season
  3. tear — from crying
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. sharp — clever
  6. land — ground
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. band — a ring
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. land — a country
  11. ground — a position
  12. ground — the earth
  13. fall — to drop
  14. bound — obliged
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. band — a music group
  19. ground — crushed
  20. tear — from crying
  21. fall — to drop
  22. bound — certain
  23. land — to come down
  24. 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