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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. tear — from crying
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. saw — the tool
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. fall — the season
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. fall — to drop
  18. wake — a trail
  19. saw — the tool
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. chair — a leader
  22. fall — to drop
  23. tear — to rip
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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