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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. tube — a container
  3. cold — not warm
  4. race — a contest
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. tear — from crying
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. rest — what's left
  9. tear — to rip
  10. rest — what's left
  11. charge — a price
  12. tube — the underground
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. race — humankind
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. race — the arms race
  17. ground — a position
  18. ground — crushed
  19. cold — an illness
  20. ground — the earth
  21. charge — electricity
  22. charge — in control
  23. pitch — completely
  24. rest — a break

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