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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  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. tube — the underground
  2. squash — to crush
  3. fall — to drop
  4. dip — to sink
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. tear — from crying
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. tube — a container
  9. spell — a short time
  10. squash — the sport
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. fall — to drop
  13. spell — magic
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. face — to confront
  16. tear — to rip
  17. spell — letters
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. tear — from crying
  20. foot — a measure
  21. face — part of the head
  22. face — to point toward
  23. dip — to dunk
  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