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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. fall — to drop
  4. pit — a hole
  5. squash — to crush
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. fall — to drop
  8. drill — a practice
  9. rule — a law
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. drill — army training
  12. toast — bread
  13. tear — to rip
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. toast — the most admired
  16. fall — the season
  17. squash — the sport
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. rule — government
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. tear — from crying
  22. drill — the tool
  23. pit — in a race
  24. fork — in a road

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