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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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. tear — to rip
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. charge — a price
  5. swing — in golf
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. mug — a cup
  8. fall — to drop
  9. wound — an injury
  10. fall — the season
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. charge — electricity
  13. charge — in control
  14. face — to confront
  15. face — to point toward
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. tear — from crying
  18. tear — from crying
  19. face — part of the head
  20. swing — music
  21. wound — an injury
  22. mug — to rob
  23. fall — to drop
  24. swing — to play on

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