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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. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — a stone
  2. rock — music
  3. lean — to bend
  4. lean — thin
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. tear — from crying
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. cold — not warm
  10. tube — a container
  11. net — after costs
  12. tear — to rip
  13. fine — all right
  14. fall — the season
  15. net — in sport
  16. net — for catching
  17. tear — from crying
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. fine — high quality
  20. tube — the underground
  21. fall — to drop
  22. cold — an illness
  23. fall — to drop
  24. lean — to rest against

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