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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. tear — to rip
  4. prune — to trim
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. fall — the season
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. pass — a permit
  11. tear — from crying
  12. land — a country
  13. fall — to drop
  14. face — to confront
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. fall — to drop
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. prune — to trim
  19. face — to point toward
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. face — part of the head
  22. pass — to succeed
  23. land — ground
  24. tear — from crying

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