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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. tear — from crying
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. press — newspapers
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. cap — a hat
  7. cold — an illness
  8. hand — in cards
  9. tear — to rip
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. bank — of a river
  12. bank — for money
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. cap — of ice
  15. press — a publisher
  16. rule — government
  17. perch — the fish
  18. cap — a lid
  19. tear — from crying
  20. bank — for money
  21. press — to push
  22. cold — not warm
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. rule — a law

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