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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. dip — to sink
  3. face — to point toward
  4. tear — from crying
  5. face — part of the head
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. rule — government
  9. tear — to rip
  10. cold — an illness
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. bulb — for light
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. land — ground
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. land — a country
  19. tear — from crying
  20. face — to confront
  21. bulb — for light
  22. land — to come down
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. rule — a law

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