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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. last — final
  3. land — to come down
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. stand — to bear
  6. drill — the tool
  7. fall — to drop
  8. can — a tin
  9. land — a country
  10. mark — a trace
  11. tear — from crying
  12. can — a tin
  13. tear — to rip
  14. land — ground
  15. mark — a grade
  16. tear — from crying
  17. can — to be able to
  18. last — finally
  19. fall — to drop
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. fall — the season
  23. drill — a practice
  24. drill — army training

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