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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. cold — not warm
  4. key — in music
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. board — a committee
  7. rock — music
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. key — for a lock
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. tear — from crying
  12. object — an aim
  13. board — to get on
  14. object — to protest
  15. tear — from crying
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. rock — a stone
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. tear — to rip
  22. key — the most important part
  23. object — a thing
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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