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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. last — finally
  3. object — to protest
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. tear — to rip
  6. tear — from crying
  7. fall — to drop
  8. object — an aim
  9. band — a ring
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. object — a thing
  12. fall — the season
  13. board — to get on
  14. last — final
  15. board — a committee
  16. chair — a leader
  17. band — a music group
  18. dip — to sink
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. tear — from crying
  23. fall — to drop
  24. board — a flat piece

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