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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. fall — the season
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. tear — from crying
  5. last — final
  6. tear — to rip
  7. game — a match
  8. fall — to drop
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. kick — in football
  12. cap — a hat
  13. game — wild animals
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. fall — to drop
  16. last — to go on
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. bear — the animal
  19. cap — of ice
  20. cap — a lid
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. bear — the animal
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. last — finally

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