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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. tear — from crying
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. club — a group
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. cell — a phone
  7. stand — to bear
  8. land — ground
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. tear — to rip
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. club — for dancing
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. tear — from crying
  18. bat — the animal
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. land — a country
  21. club — for golf
  22. cell — in biology
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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