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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 120 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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. cap — a lid
  3. cap — of ice
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. firm — decided
  6. land — to come down
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. spring — a coil
  9. cold — an illness
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. firm — steady
  12. tear — from crying
  13. firm — a company
  14. rule — government
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. land — ground
  17. rule — a law
  18. tear — to rip
  19. spring — the season
  20. spring — of water
  21. land — a country
  22. cap — a hat
  23. cold — not warm
  24. rule — to rule out

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