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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. 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 — not warm
  2. stand — to bear
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. wound — an injury
  7. wind — moving air
  8. cold — an illness
  9. wound — an injury
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. lie — to recline
  13. wind — moving air
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. mate — a friend
  21. mate — to breed
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. mate — a partner
  24. 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