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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. clip — to cut
  3. row — to paddle
  4. lie — to recline
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. spell — magic
  7. cold — an illness
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. clip — a video
  11. cold — not warm
  12. row — a line
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. spell — a short time
  17. rock — music
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. spell — letters
  20. rock — a stone
  21. land — to come down
  22. land — a country
  23. land — ground
  24. clip — for paper

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