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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  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. present — a gift
  2. object — a thing
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. wind — moving air
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. tear — from crying
  7. lie — to recline
  8. tear — to rip
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. present — the time now
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. present — there
  15. object — an aim
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. cell — in biology
  18. wind — moving air
  19. cell — a phone
  20. scale — size or range
  21. object — to protest
  22. scale — in music
  23. wake — a trail
  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