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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. tear — from crying
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. fall — to drop
  6. cold — not warm
  7. fall — to drop
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. tear — to rip
  10. snap — to click
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. rush — hurry
  15. lean — to bend
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. tear — from crying
  18. lean — thin
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. branch — a division
  24. cold — an illness

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