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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 116 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. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. bat — the animal
  4. season — of the year
  5. rule — government
  6. wound — an injury
  7. fall — to drop
  8. season — in sport
  9. firm — steady
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. fall — the season
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. wound — an injury
  14. firm — a company
  15. tear — from crying
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. tear — to rip
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. fall — to drop
  21. rule — a law
  22. pound — a weight
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. tear — from crying

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