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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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468
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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. cold — not warm
  6. fall — the season
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. fall — to drop
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. vault — a safe
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. cold — an illness
  14. tear — from crying
  15. fall — to drop
  16. ground — the earth
  17. ground — crushed
  18. tear — from crying
  19. ground — a position
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. mark — a trace
  22. mark — a grade
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. hide — to keep secret

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