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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 120 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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. cold — an illness
  3. pass — to spend time
  4. face — to point toward
  5. last — to go on
  6. saw — the tool
  7. pass — a permit
  8. face — to confront
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. cold — not warm
  11. saw — the tool
  12. tear — from crying
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. last — final
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. last — finally
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. wake — a trail
  19. rock — music
  20. tear — from crying
  21. rock — a stone
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. face — part of the head
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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