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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. tear — from crying
  3. tear — from crying
  4. tear — to rip
  5. ground — the earth
  6. pitch — completely
  7. cold — not warm
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. cold — an illness
  12. lie — to recline
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. ground — crushed
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. race — the arms race
  19. ground — a position
  20. race — a contest
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. race — humankind
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. pitch — a sports field

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