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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. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. fall — the season
  4. fall — to drop
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. drill — a practice
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. drill — the tool
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. tear — from crying
  11. kick — in football
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. object — an aim
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. race — the arms race
  16. object — to protest
  17. object — a thing
  18. tube — the underground
  19. tear — from crying
  20. tube — a container
  21. race — a contest
  22. tear — to rip
  23. drill — army training
  24. race — humankind

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