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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 120 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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: hide · stick · swing · lie · fall · tear

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. swing — to play on
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. fall — to drop
  10. tear — from crying
  11. fall — the season
  12. swing — in golf
  13. fall — to drop
  14. tear — to rip
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. swing — music
  18. lie — to recline

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