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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: deal · fall · chest · prune · nail · board · tear · bowl

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. fall — the season
  4. chest — of your body
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. fall — to drop
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. board — a committee
  10. chest — of your body
  11. prune — to trim
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. fall — to drop
  14. chest — a box
  15. prune — to trim
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. deal — to handle
  20. tear — from crying
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. tear — to rip
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. board — to get on

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