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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. last — to go on
  4. last — final
  5. deal — to handle
  6. spring — of water
  7. wound — an injury
  8. cap — of ice
  9. mug — to rob
  10. spring — the season
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. cap — a hat
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. tear — from crying
  15. mug — a face
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. tear — from crying
  18. snap — to click
  19. spring — a coil
  20. cap — a lid
  21. mug — a cup
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. wound — an injury
  24. last — finally

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