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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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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: fall · bound · cell · spring · press · tear · file · calf

  1. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. spring — the season
  4. file — a document
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. tear — from crying
  7. spring — a coil
  8. tear — from crying
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. file — a line of people
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. bound — certain
  13. file — a tool
  14. fall — to drop
  15. tear — to rip
  16. fall — to drop
  17. bound — tied together
  18. cell — in biology
  19. press — to push
  20. cell — a phone
  21. spring — of water
  22. press — a publisher
  23. press — newspapers
  24. bound — obliged

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