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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: toast · lean · chest · key · fall · tear · wind · court

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. key — in music
  3. court — for sport
  4. key — for a lock
  5. wind — moving air
  6. toast — the most admired
  7. wind — moving air
  8. court — of law
  9. toast — a drink to someone
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. fall — the season
  12. lean — to bend
  13. fall — to drop
  14. lean — thin
  15. fall — to drop
  16. chest — of your body
  17. tear — to rip
  18. toast — bread
  19. tear — from crying
  20. chest — a box
  21. court — of a king
  22. chest — of your body
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. key — the most important part

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