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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. object — an aim
  3. swing — to play on
  4. prune — to trim
  5. cap — a lid
  6. mark — a grade
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. prune — to trim
  10. object — to protest
  11. fall — to drop
  12. cap — of ice
  13. mark — a trace
  14. fall — the season
  15. tear — from crying
  16. tear — to rip
  17. object — a thing
  18. swing — in golf
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. fine — all right
  21. cap — a hat
  22. fall — to drop
  23. fine — high quality
  24. swing — music

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