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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. ground — a position
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. fall — to drop
  6. rock — music
  7. tear — from crying
  8. fall — the season
  9. rock — a stone
  10. tear — to rip
  11. last — to go on
  12. tear — from crying
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. last — final
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. bear — the animal
  19. ground — crushed
  20. fall — to drop
  21. ground — the earth
  22. last — finally
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. bear — the animal

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