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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: scale · rock · club · tear · stand · fall · lie · face

  1. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  2. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. stand — for spectators
  3. club — for dancing
  4. fall — the season
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. club — for golf
  7. rock — music
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. face — to confront
  11. face — to point toward
  12. fall — to drop
  13. scale — size or range
  14. scale — in music
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. club — a group
  17. rock — a stone
  18. lie — to recline
  19. stand — to bear
  20. tear — from crying
  21. tear — from crying
  22. tear — to rip
  23. face — part of the head
  24. fall — to drop

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