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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. wake — a trail
  4. scale — in music
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. fine — high quality
  7. cold — an illness
  8. scale — size or range
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. charge — a price
  14. cold — not warm
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. fine — all right
  19. tear — from crying
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. charge — in control
  22. charge — electricity
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. tear — from crying

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