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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. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. board — a committee
  4. board — to get on
  5. tear — to rip
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. tear — from crying
  8. rush — hurry
  9. fall — to drop
  10. fall — to drop
  11. fall — the season
  12. tear — from crying
  13. clip — for paper
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. firm — steady
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. lean — to bend
  18. clip — a video
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. lean — thin
  22. firm — a company
  23. fork — in a road
  24. clip — to cut

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