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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. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  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. rest — what's left
  3. march — the month
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. row — to paddle
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. fine — all right
  10. rest — what's left
  11. tear — from crying
  12. march — music
  13. march — the month
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. tear — from crying
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. sharp — clever
  18. row — a line
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. cold — an illness
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. rest — a break
  23. fine — high quality
  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