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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. The water is too ________________.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. cold — not warm
  3. cell — in biology
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. cell — a phone
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. march — the month
  9. march — the month
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. march — music
  12. lean — thin
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. tear — from crying
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. cold — an illness
  19. snap — to click
  20. tear — from crying
  21. wake — a trail
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. lean — to bend

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