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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  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 — not warm
  2. tear — from crying
  3. cold — an illness
  4. cap — a lid
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. wake — a trail
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. tear — to rip
  11. cap — a hat
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. pop — music
  16. cell — a phone
  17. stock — shares
  18. pop — to visit
  19. pop — soda
  20. cell — in biology
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. cap — of ice
  23. stock — goods
  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