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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: fall · wind · mate · kid · rock · wave · tear · lie

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. fall — to drop
  3. tear — from crying
  4. fall — to drop
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. wind — moving air
  9. wind — moving air
  10. lie — to recline
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. tear — from crying
  13. rock — a stone
  14. mate — to breed
  15. mate — a partner
  16. tear — to rip
  17. rock — music
  18. kid — to tease
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. fall — the season
  24. kid — child

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