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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. ground — a position
  3. tear — from crying
  4. tear — to rip
  5. hand — in cards
  6. chest — of your body
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. chest — a box
  9. drill — a practice
  10. fall — to drop
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. fall — to drop
  16. ground — the earth
  17. chest — of your body
  18. drill — army training
  19. drill — the tool
  20. chair — a leader
  21. ground — crushed
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. tear — from crying
  24. hand — help

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