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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. toast — bread
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. tear — from crying
  5. fall — the season
  6. bank — of a river
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. tear — from crying
  9. spring — of water
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. bank — for money
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. tear — to rip
  14. fall — to drop
  15. spring — a coil
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. toast — the most admired
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. fall — to drop
  21. bank — for money
  22. spring — the season
  23. mine — for digging
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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