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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. tear — from crying
  3. cap — of ice
  4. tear — to rip
  5. fall — to drop
  6. stock — shares
  7. fall — to drop
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. last — to go on
  12. fall — the season
  13. cap — a lid
  14. last — finally
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. stock — goods
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. cap — a hat
  21. tear — from crying
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. wax — to grow
  24. dip — to sink

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