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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. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. root — of a word
  3. face — part of the head
  4. tear — from crying
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. fall — the season
  8. roll — a list
  9. fall — to drop
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. capital — a city
  13. roll — a cake
  14. tear — from crying
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. root — the cause
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. capital — money
  19. root — of a plant
  20. face — to point toward
  21. tear — to rip
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. face — to confront

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