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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. key — for a lock
  3. cold — not warm
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. cold — an illness
  6. club — a group
  7. kick — in football
  8. tear — from crying
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. key — in music
  11. key — the most important part
  12. hand — help
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. kid — to tease
  15. club — for dancing
  16. season — in sport
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. tear — to rip
  19. hand — in cards
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. season — of the year
  23. club — for golf
  24. kid — child

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