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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. tear — from crying
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. content — the amount
  7. lean — to bend
  8. bound — certain
  9. bound — tied together
  10. wind — moving air
  11. lean — thin
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. bound — obliged
  14. tear — to rip
  15. cold — an illness
  16. race — a contest
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. wind — moving air
  20. race — the arms race
  21. content — happy
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. race — humankind
  24. cold — not warm

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