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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. tear — from crying
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. fall — the season
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. lean — thin
  7. fall — to drop
  8. fall — to drop
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. firm — steady
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. lean — to bend
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. shower — rain
  15. tear — to rip
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. firm — a company
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. shower — to wash
  20. firm — decided
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. tear — from crying
  23. cell — in biology
  24. cell — a phone

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