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

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. bound — obliged
  3. tear — from crying
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. wind — moving air
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. tear — from crying
  8. can — to be able to
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. cold — not warm
  12. wind — moving air
  13. tear — to rip
  14. can — a tin
  15. bound — certain
  16. can — a tin
  17. bound — tied together
  18. cold — the Cold War

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