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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. wake — a trail
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. scale — in music
  5. fall — to drop
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. stem — to come from
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. fall — to drop
  12. scale — size or range
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. capital — money
  15. rush — hurry
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. tear — from crying
  20. capital — a city
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. fall — the season
  23. tear — to rip
  24. bowl — a dish

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