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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. rock — a stone
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. rock — music
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. tear — from crying
  7. pit — a hole
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. cold — not warm
  10. tear — from crying
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. tear — to rip
  13. pit — in a race
  14. cold — an illness
  15. deal — to handle
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. patient — calm and waiting

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