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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. tear — from crying
  3. net — after costs
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. spring — a coil
  6. mate — a friend
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. fall — the season
  9. net — for catching
  10. mate — a partner
  11. file — a line of people
  12. spring — of water
  13. file — a document
  14. net — in sport
  15. tear — from crying
  16. mate — to breed
  17. dip — to sink
  18. tear — to rip
  19. spring — the season
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. file — a tool
  24. fall — to drop

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