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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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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: tear · cell · present · pit · fall · stick

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. fall — to drop
  3. tear — to rip
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. fall — the season
  6. tear — from crying
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. fall — to drop
  10. present — a gift
  11. pit — a hole
  12. cell — in biology
  13. present — the time now
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. pit — in a race
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. cell — a phone
  18. present — there

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