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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. chest — of your body
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. bank — for money
  5. safe — a strongbox
  6. fall — the season
  7. tear — from crying
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. bank — for money
  10. fall — to drop
  11. chest — of your body
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. chest — a box
  15. fall — to drop
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. tear — from crying
  18. bank — of a river
  19. bulb — for light
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. wake — a trail
  22. bulb — for light
  23. tear — to rip
  24. straw — a straw man

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