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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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Word bank
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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. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. My mare is ________________ in color.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. mark — a grade
  3. tear — from crying
  4. cap — a hat
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. chest — of your body
  7. ball — a great time
  8. chest — a box
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. cap — a lid
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. chest — of your body
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. tear — to rip
  16. cold — an illness
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. mark — a trace
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. cap — of ice
  21. tear — from crying
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. bay — a horse colour
  24. ball — a dance

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