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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. cap — of ice
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. rock — a stone
  6. jam — a tight spot
  7. tear — to rip
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. jam — in traffic
  10. perch — the fish
  11. cap — a lid
  12. fall — to drop
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. fall — to drop
  18. stand — to bear
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. fall — the season
  21. tear — from crying
  22. cap — a hat
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. tear — from crying

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