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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. march — music
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. cap — a hat
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. cold — an illness
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. march — the month
  10. cap — a lid
  11. tear — from crying
  12. rule — government
  13. march — the month
  14. rule — a law
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. cap — of ice
  17. cold — not warm
  18. pound — a weight
  19. chest — a box
  20. tear — to rip
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. chest — of your body
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. tear — from crying

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