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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. mark — a grade
  4. lean — thin
  5. fall — the season
  6. mark — a trace
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. prune — to trim
  10. lean — to bend
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. tear — from crying
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. fall — to drop
  16. fall — to drop
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. tear — from crying
  20. rash — a series
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. tear — to rip
  23. rash — hasty
  24. prune — to trim

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