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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. bark — to shout
  4. foot — a measure
  5. spell — letters
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. spell — a short time
  9. capital — a city
  10. tear — from crying
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. tear — from crying
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. cold — not warm
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. spell — magic
  22. capital — money
  23. tear — to rip
  24. hide — animal skin

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