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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. rush — hurry
  3. tear — from crying
  4. tear — to rip
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. pop — soda
  8. pop — music
  9. last — final
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. tear — from crying
  12. drill — army training
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. drill — the tool
  15. drill — a practice
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. fall — to drop
  18. fall — the season
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. pop — to visit
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. fall — to drop
  23. last — finally
  24. last — to go on

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