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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 116 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
Word bank
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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. tear — from crying
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. wind — moving air
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. fall — the season
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. tear — from crying
  14. clip — for paper
  15. ground — a position
  16. clip — to cut
  17. ground — crushed
  18. ground — the earth
  19. tear — to rip
  20. fall — to drop
  21. wind — moving air
  22. lie — to recline
  23. clip — a video
  24. lie — an untruth

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