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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. tear — from crying
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. charge — in control
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. tear — from crying
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. spring — a coil
  10. tear — to rip
  11. charge — a price
  12. fall — to drop
  13. rock — a stone
  14. rock — music
  15. row — to paddle
  16. cell — a phone
  17. fall — the season
  18. charge — electricity
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. row — a line
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. spring — of water
  23. cell — in biology
  24. spring — 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