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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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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. tear — from crying
  3. tear — from crying
  4. firm — steady
  5. tear — to rip
  6. mate — a partner
  7. fall — to drop
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. field — for sport
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. bulb — for light
  12. cold — an illness
  13. firm — decided
  14. mate — to breed
  15. field — a subject
  16. fall — to drop
  17. bulb — for light
  18. scale — in music
  19. cold — not warm
  20. mate — a friend
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. scale — size or range
  23. firm — a company
  24. field — farmland

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