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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. bass — low music
  3. current — of water
  4. tear — from crying
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. saw — the tool
  7. fall — to drop
  8. cap — of ice
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. stem — to come from
  14. cap — a hat
  15. current — happening now
  16. saw — the tool
  17. fall — to drop
  18. bass — the fish
  19. plane — a tool
  20. tear — to rip
  21. cap — a lid
  22. tear — from crying
  23. current — electric
  24. bass — the instrument

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