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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 120 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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. fall — the season
  7. branch — a division
  8. march — the month
  9. march — the month
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. rock — music
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. fall — to drop
  14. march — music
  15. tear — to rip
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. race — a contest
  18. race — humankind
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. rock — a stone
  21. tear — from crying
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. race — the arms race
  24. tear — from crying

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