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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. When will it ________________ you to start?
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. tear — to rip
  3. squash — the sport
  4. lie — to recline
  5. file — a tool
  6. suit — clothes
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. cold — an illness
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. tear — from crying
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. suit — in cards
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. tear — from crying
  15. file — a document
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. content — the amount
  18. suit — to fit
  19. squash — to crush
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. file — a line of people
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. cold — not warm
  24. leaves — of a tree

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