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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. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. fall — to drop
  3. fall — to drop
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. ground — crushed
  10. ground — a position
  11. content — happy
  12. fall — the season
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. content — the amount
  15. safe — a strongbox
  16. tear — from crying
  17. cold — not warm
  18. tear — to rip
  19. hand — help
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. hand — in cards
  23. tear — from crying
  24. cold — an illness

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