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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. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. face — part of the head
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. ground — the earth
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. cold — an illness
  7. face — to confront
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. ground — crushed
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. tear — to rip
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. tear — from crying
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. tear — from crying
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. cold — not warm
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. face — to point toward
  23. ground — a position
  24. wake — a trail

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