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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 116 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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  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. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. tear — from crying
  3. wind — moving air
  4. staff — employees
  5. wind — moving air
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. tear — to rip
  8. rush — hurry
  9. staff — employees
  10. staff — a stick
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. wound — an injury
  13. file — a tool
  14. fall — to drop
  15. tear — from crying
  16. fall — the season
  17. file — a document
  18. bound — tied together
  19. bound — certain
  20. wound — an injury
  21. file — a line of people
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. bound — obliged
  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