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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  19. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. scale — in music
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. craft — boats
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. tear — to rip
  8. cold — not warm
  9. drill — army training
  10. tear — from crying
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. drill — the tool
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. scale — size or range
  17. tear — from crying
  18. toast — a drink to someone
  19. toast — bread
  20. cold — an illness
  21. ruler — a monarch
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. craft — a skill
  24. drill — a practice

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