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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 120 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 drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. fall — the season
  3. spring — of water
  4. fall — to drop
  5. spring — a coil
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. fall — to drop
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. rash — a series
  11. bat — the animal
  12. rash — hasty
  13. rule — government
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. bear — the animal
  17. tear — from crying
  18. tear — to rip
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. spring — the season
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. tear — from crying
  23. bear — the animal
  24. rule — a law

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