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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. cap — of ice
  3. spring — the season
  4. rule — government
  5. cold — an illness
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. cap — a hat
  9. cold — not warm
  10. spring — a coil
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. rest — a break
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. spring — of water
  15. rest — what's left
  16. tear — from crying
  17. rule — a law
  18. rest — what's left
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. cap — a lid
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. tear — to rip
  24. stand — to bear

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