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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. toast — the most admired
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. fall — to drop
  7. fall — to drop
  8. drill — the tool
  9. tear — to rip
  10. cap — of ice
  11. tear — from crying
  12. cap — a lid
  13. fall — the season
  14. swing — music
  15. toast — bread
  16. bear — the animal
  17. swing — in golf
  18. cap — a hat
  19. swing — to play on
  20. drill — army training
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. tear — from crying
  23. bear — the animal
  24. drill — a practice

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