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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. club — for golf
  3. tear — from crying
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. rule — a law
  6. drill — a practice
  7. rule — government
  8. key — for a lock
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. drill — the tool
  11. club — for dancing
  12. key — the most important part
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. key — in music
  16. cold — an illness
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. club — a group
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. drill — army training
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. tear — from crying
  24. tear — to rip

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