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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. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. hand — help
  3. tear — from crying
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. spring — a coil
  6. spring — of water
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. board — to get on
  11. hand — in cards
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. content — the amount
  14. spring — the season
  15. tear — from crying
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. tear — to rip
  18. board — a committee
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. content — happy
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. fall — to drop
  23. fall — the season
  24. fall — to drop

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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