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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. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. file — a line of people
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. root — of a word
  5. field — farmland
  6. root — of a plant
  7. snap — to click
  8. fall — the season
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. root — the cause
  11. deal — to handle
  12. file — a document
  13. field — a subject
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. field — for sport
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. tear — from crying
  19. tear — from crying
  20. file — a tool
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. fall — to drop
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. tear — to rip

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