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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 116 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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. face — to point toward
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. tear — to rip
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. race — humankind
  8. face — part of the head
  9. race — the arms race
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. land — a country
  13. capital — money
  14. capital — a city
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. land — to come down
  18. face — to confront
  19. tear — from crying
  20. cold — an illness
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. tear — from crying
  23. land — ground
  24. race — a contest

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