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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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 · straw · temple · rush · can · dip · fall · spring

  1. When was this ________________ built?
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. rush — hurry
  5. fall — the season
  6. can — to be able to
  7. tear — to rip
  8. spring — a coil
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. spring — of water
  11. fall — to drop
  12. tear — from crying
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. fall — to drop
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. can — a tin
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. can — a tin
  22. tear — from crying
  23. dip — to sink
  24. spring — the season

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