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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: tear · band · fall · deal · fine · lie · track · cold

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. track — a path
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. fine — high quality
  6. cold — not warm
  7. lie — to recline
  8. tear — to rip
  9. fall — to drop
  10. fall — to drop
  11. band — a music group
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. tear — from crying
  14. deal — to handle
  15. tear — from crying
  16. fall — the season
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. track — to keep track
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. track — a song
  22. fine — all right
  23. band — a ring
  24. deal — a big deal

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