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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  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. rush — to hurry
  2. fall — the season
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. mine — for digging
  5. scale — in music
  6. scale — size or range
  7. bound — certain
  8. charge — electricity
  9. fall — to drop
  10. charge — a price
  11. rest — what's left
  12. tear — from crying
  13. rush — hurry
  14. rest — what's left
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. charge — in control
  18. tear — from crying
  19. rest — a break
  20. bound — obliged
  21. tear — to rip
  22. bound — tied together
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. fall — to drop

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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