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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 · roll · squash · coach · hide · fall · stand · cell

  1. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. roll — a list
  4. tear — from crying
  5. cell — a phone
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. roll — a cake
  10. fall — to drop
  11. squash — the sport
  12. squash — to crush
  13. fall — the season
  14. tear — to rip
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. fall — to drop
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. cell — in biology
  23. tear — from crying
  24. cell — in a prison

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