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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. court — of law
  4. pit — in a race
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. land — a country
  8. cold — an illness
  9. land — to come down
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. pit — a hole
  13. tear — from crying
  14. track — a path
  15. land — ground
  16. track — to keep track
  17. cold — not warm
  18. court — for sport
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. tear — to rip
  21. court — of a king
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. track — a song
  24. tear — from crying

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