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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: leaves · wake · tear · fall · snap · wind · cap · mug

  1. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a cup
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. fall — to drop
  4. cap — a lid
  5. wind — moving air
  6. snap — to click
  7. tear — to rip
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. cap — a hat
  12. cap — of ice
  13. tear — from crying
  14. mug — to rob
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. fall — the season
  17. mug — a face
  18. fall — to drop
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. wind — moving air
  22. wake — a trail
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. tear — from crying

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