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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. mine — for digging
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. tear — from crying
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. tear — to rip
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. fall — to drop
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. drill — a practice
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. fall — the season
  18. wake — a trail
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. drill — army training
  21. wound — an injury
  22. drill — the tool
  23. tear — from crying
  24. wound — an injury

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