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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. When will it ________________ you to start?
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. tear — from crying
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. race — the arms race
  6. suit — in cards
  7. cold — not warm
  8. suit — clothes
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. season — of the year
  11. cold — an illness
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. race — a contest
  14. season — in sport
  15. tear — to rip
  16. suit — to fit
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. row — to paddle
  19. race — humankind
  20. row — a line
  21. cell — a phone
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. cell — in biology

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