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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. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. vault — an arched ceiling
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. fall — the season
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. spring — of water
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. spring — the season
  9. fall — to drop
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. press — newspapers
  13. press — to push
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. vault — a safe
  16. tear — from crying
  17. tear — to rip
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. spring — a coil
  20. kid — child
  21. tear — from crying
  22. press — a publisher
  23. kid — to tease
  24. leaves — of a tree

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