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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 who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. tear — to rip
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. tear — from crying
  6. tear — from crying
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. rock — a stone
  9. wind — moving air
  10. chest — of your body
  11. object — a thing
  12. chest — of your body
  13. present — a gift
  14. chest — a box
  15. fall — to drop
  16. band — a music group
  17. present — there
  18. fall — the season
  19. object — to protest
  20. present — the time now
  21. object — an aim
  22. band — a ring
  23. wind — moving air
  24. rock — 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