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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. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. plane — a tool
  3. tear — to rip
  4. wind — moving air
  5. bear — the animal
  6. rest — what's left
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. wake — a trail
  9. fall — to drop
  10. present — there
  11. bear — the animal
  12. rest — what's left
  13. bear — to put up with
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. tear — from crying
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. present — a gift
  18. tear — from crying
  19. fall — the season
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. present — the time now
  22. fall — to drop
  23. wind — moving air
  24. plane — an aircraft

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