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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 · cap · tear · lean · toast · drill · bear · mine

  1. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. cap — of ice
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. drill — a practice
  5. toast — the most admired
  6. lean — thin
  7. fall — to drop
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. tear — from crying
  10. toast — bread
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. bear — the animal
  13. cap — a lid
  14. mine — for digging
  15. cap — a hat
  16. fall — to drop
  17. drill — army training
  18. fall — the season
  19. bear — the animal
  20. tear — from crying
  21. drill — the tool
  22. tear — to rip
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. lean — to bend

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