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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. cold — not warm
  3. wake — a trail
  4. fall — to drop
  5. season — of the year
  6. tear — from crying
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. fall — to drop
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. rule — government
  11. bulb — for light
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. rule — a law
  14. fall — the season
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. tear — to rip
  17. season — in sport
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. tear — from crying
  22. cold — an illness
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. bulb — for light

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