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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 didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. tear — from crying
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. fall — the season
  7. tear — from crying
  8. kid — to tease
  9. fall — to drop
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. tear — to rip
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. fall — to drop
  16. kid — child
  17. foot — a measure
  18. wake — a trail
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. trunk — of a tree

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