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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 116 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: trunk · rule · tear · cold · pit · can · lie · fall

  1. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. rule — government
  3. tear — from crying
  4. cold — not warm
  5. lie — to recline
  6. tear — to rip
  7. fall — the season
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. pit — in a race
  10. tear — from crying
  11. can — a tin
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. cold — an illness
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. can — a tin
  18. fall — to drop
  19. fall — to drop
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. rule — a law
  22. pit — a hole
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. trunk — of a car

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