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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. staff — employees
  3. spell — magic
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. tear — from crying
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. bore — to tire
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. club — for golf
  10. spell — letters
  11. tear — from crying
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. staff — employees
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. cold — an illness
  16. club — a group
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. staff — a stick
  19. tear — to rip
  20. bore — to drill
  21. club — for dancing
  22. stand — to bear
  23. spell — a short time
  24. stand — for spectators

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