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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. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. tear — from crying
  4. fall — to drop
  5. spring — of water
  6. spring — a coil
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. fall — the season
  10. cold — not warm
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. cold — an illness
  13. tear — from crying
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. tear — to rip
  19. rule — a law
  20. mark — a trace
  21. rule — government
  22. fall — to drop
  23. rule — to rule out
  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