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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. stem — to come from
  3. dip — to sink
  4. tear — to rip
  5. tear — from crying
  6. present — the time now
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. game — wild animals
  9. race — humankind
  10. race — a contest
  11. march — music
  12. march — the month
  13. race — the arms race
  14. game — a match
  15. march — the month
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. fall — the season
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. present — a gift
  20. fall — to drop
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. present — there
  23. tear — from crying
  24. stem — of a plant

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