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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. lean — to bend
  3. bound — obliged
  4. tear — to rip
  5. rock — a stone
  6. bound — certain
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. tear — from crying
  13. cold — an illness
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. tear — from crying
  16. stock — goods
  17. bound — tied together
  18. cold — not warm
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. stock — shares
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. lean — thin
  24. hide — to keep secret

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