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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. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. tear — from crying
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. tear — to rip
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. fall — the season
  8. tear — from crying
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. fall — to drop
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. squash — to crush
  16. band — a music group
  17. band — a ring
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. fall — to drop
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. kick — in football
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. squash — the sport

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