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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 120 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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  9. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. fall — to drop
  3. cell — in biology
  4. tear — to rip
  5. hand — in cards
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. safe — a strongbox
  10. prune — to trim
  11. craft — boats
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. hand — help
  14. prune — to trim
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. cell — a phone
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. fall — the season
  19. craft — a skill
  20. game — a match
  21. fall — to drop
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. tear — from crying
  24. game — wild animals

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