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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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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. fall — to drop
  3. fall — to drop
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. tear — to rip
  7. toast — bread
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. stem — to come from
  10. tear — from crying
  11. pop — to visit
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. file — a document
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. file — a line of people
  16. pop — music
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. pop — soda
  19. toast — a drink to someone
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. fall — the season
  22. file — a tool
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. dip — to sink

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