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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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. fall — the season
  3. tear — from crying
  4. pass — to spend time
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. cold — not warm
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. pass — a permit
  12. fall — to drop
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. tear — from crying
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. cold — an illness
  17. fall — to drop
  18. mine — for digging
  19. stem — to come from
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. tear — to rip
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. cold — the Cold War

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