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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. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. ball — a great time
  3. fall — to drop
  4. spell — letters
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. tear — to rip
  7. bore — to tire
  8. spell — a short time
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. foot — a measure
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. march — the month
  13. spell — magic
  14. fall — the season
  15. march — the month
  16. dip — to sink
  17. march — music
  18. bore — to drill
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. tear — from crying
  21. fall — to drop
  22. tear — from crying
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. ball — a dance

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