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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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468
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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. kid — child
  4. drill — the tool
  5. fall — to drop
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. tear — from crying
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. object — to protest
  12. tear — from crying
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. tube — a container
  15. drill — army training
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. tear — to rip
  18. fall — the season
  19. object — an aim
  20. drill — a practice
  21. object — a thing
  22. fall — to drop
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. kid — to tease

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