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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. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. fall — the season
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. content — the amount
  8. lean — to bend
  9. stand — to bear
  10. lean — thin
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. cell — a phone
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. cell — in biology
  16. tear — to rip
  17. fall — to drop
  18. content — happy
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. tear — from crying
  22. tear — from crying
  23. stem — to come from
  24. stem — a stem cell

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