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

Word bank: tear · fall · deal · stick · chest · spring

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. tear — from crying
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. spring — of water
  6. spring — the season
  7. chest — of your body
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. deal — to handle
  11. tear — from crying
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. fall — to drop
  14. chest — of your body
  15. spring — a coil
  16. chest — a box
  17. fall — to drop
  18. fall — the season

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