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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. fall — to drop
  4. can — to be able to
  5. fall — the season
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. wind — moving air
  8. tear — to rip
  9. object — to protest
  10. can — a tin
  11. can — a tin
  12. wound — an injury
  13. field — a subject
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. object — an aim
  16. safe — a strongbox
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. fall — to drop
  19. field — for sport
  20. wound — an injury
  21. wind — moving air
  22. field — farmland
  23. object — a thing
  24. tear — from crying

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