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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. mug — to rob
  4. fall — to drop
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. tear — from crying
  9. present — the time now
  10. tear — from crying
  11. file — a document
  12. fall — to drop
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. present — a gift
  15. mug — a cup
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. file — a line of people
  19. tear — to rip
  20. mug — a face
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. kick — in football
  23. file — a tool
  24. fall — the season

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