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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 116 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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. fall — to drop
  3. fine — high quality
  4. wake — a trail
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. band — a ring
  7. fall — the season
  8. mark — a trace
  9. row — to paddle
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. race — the arms race
  13. tear — from crying
  14. row — a line
  15. race — a contest
  16. fall — to drop
  17. tear — to rip
  18. mark — a grade
  19. fine — all right
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. tear — from crying
  22. band — a music group
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. race — humankind

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