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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. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. fall — the season
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. fall — to drop
  7. safe — a strongbox
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. pit — in a race
  10. mug — a cup
  11. pit — a hole
  12. tear — to rip
  13. mug — to rob
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. tear — from crying
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. march — music
  18. row — to paddle
  19. march — the month
  20. row — a line
  21. march — the month
  22. tear — from crying
  23. fall — to drop
  24. mug — a face

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