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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. fall — to drop
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. tear — from crying
  5. cap — of ice
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. race — the arms race
  8. fall — the season
  9. snap — to click
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. race — a contest
  12. cap — a hat
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. tear — to rip
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. cap — a lid
  17. fall — to drop
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. wake — a trail
  20. race — humankind
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. rule — a law
  23. rule — government
  24. tear — from crying

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