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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. field — for sport
  4. row — a line
  5. tear — from crying
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. cap — a hat
  8. field — a subject
  9. cap — a lid
  10. bear — the animal
  11. bear — the animal
  12. tear — to rip
  13. bulb — for light
  14. bulb — for light
  15. tear — from crying
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. cap — of ice
  19. row — to paddle
  20. fall — to drop
  21. field — farmland
  22. kick — in football
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. fall — to drop

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