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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. tear — to rip
  3. tear — from crying
  4. capital — money
  5. snap — to click
  6. tear — from crying
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. fall — to drop
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. stock — shares
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. capital — a city
  20. stock — goods
  21. fall — to drop
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. patient — a sick person

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