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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. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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. date — the fruit
  4. tear — from crying
  5. wake — a trail
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. mark — a grade
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. tear — to rip
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. race — the arms race
  16. fall — to drop
  17. race — humankind
  18. mark — a trace
  19. race — a contest
  20. capital — a city
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. capital — money
  23. fall — the season
  24. date — on the calendar

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