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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 was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. lie — to recline
  3. fall — to drop
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. rest — what's left
  6. fall — to drop
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. rest — what's left
  10. fall — the season
  11. rest — a break
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. bark — to shout
  14. wind — moving air
  15. wind — moving air
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. mine — for digging
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. bear — the animal
  24. bear — the animal

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