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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  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. fall — to drop
  2. tear — to rip
  3. wake — a trail
  4. present — a gift
  5. can — a tin
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. wound — an injury
  8. can — a tin
  9. file — a document
  10. wound — an injury
  11. tear — from crying
  12. present — there
  13. file — a line of people
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. file — a tool
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. fall — the season
  20. fall — to drop
  21. can — to be able to
  22. present — the time now
  23. pitcher — a jug
  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