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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. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  24. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. row — a line
  3. fall — the season
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. tear — to rip
  6. mug — a cup
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. fall — to drop
  9. tear — from crying
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. game — a match
  13. tear — from crying
  14. game — wild animals
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. deal — to handle
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. row — to paddle
  23. mug — to rob
  24. mug — a face

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