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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. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. squash — to crush
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. tear — from crying
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. drill — a practice
  8. squash — the sport
  9. lie — to recline
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. cold — an illness
  12. tear — from crying
  13. staff — a stick
  14. fall — to drop
  15. cold — not warm
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. staff — employees
  18. tear — to rip
  19. staff — employees
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. drill — the tool
  22. fall — to drop
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. fall — the season

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