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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. kid — to tease
  3. tear — from crying
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. cold — an illness
  6. file — a line of people
  7. stock — goods
  8. file — a tool
  9. file — a document
  10. rash — hasty
  11. tear — to rip
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. rash — a series
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. cold — not warm
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. pound — a weight
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. tear — from crying
  22. kid — child
  23. stand — to bear
  24. stock — shares

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