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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. cell — a phone
  3. fall — to drop
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. fall — the season
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. tear — from crying
  11. chair — a leader
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. cell — in biology
  15. fall — to drop
  16. tear — to rip
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. cold — not warm
  19. bear — the animal
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. bear — the animal
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. cold — an illness

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