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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: tear · swing · cabinet · race · fall · bank · wound · toast

  1. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. toast — bread
  3. bank — of a river
  4. tear — from crying
  5. fall — the season
  6. race — the arms race
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. wound — an injury
  10. tear — from crying
  11. wound — an injury
  12. fall — to drop
  13. race — a contest
  14. race — humankind
  15. toast — a drink to someone
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. swing — to play on
  19. tear — to rip
  20. bank — for money
  21. swing — music
  22. fall — to drop
  23. bank — for money
  24. swing — in golf

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