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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. wind — moving air
  3. tear — from crying
  4. fine — high quality
  5. tear — to rip
  6. stem — to come from
  7. fall — the season
  8. fall — to drop
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. swing — to play on
  11. swing — music
  12. fall — to drop
  13. fine — all right
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. foot — a measure
  19. wind — moving air
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. tear — from crying
  23. swing — in golf
  24. fine — a penalty

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