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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. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. mark — a grade
  4. bat — the animal
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. bear — the animal
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. tear — from crying
  10. fork — in a road
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. cold — not warm
  15. mark — a trace
  16. lie — to recline
  17. bear — the animal
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. tear — from crying
  20. cold — an illness
  21. tear — to rip
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. cold — the Cold War

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