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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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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: dip · cold · pop · tube · tear · lie · spell · nail

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. spell — letters
  5. tube — a container
  6. cold — not warm
  7. spell — magic
  8. tube — the underground
  9. tear — from crying
  10. lie — to recline
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. cold — an illness
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. dip — to sink
  15. pop — music
  16. pop — soda
  17. pop — to visit
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. spell — a short time
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. tear — from crying

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