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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. tear — from crying
  4. staff — employees
  5. rash — a series
  6. cold — not warm
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. fine — all right
  9. tear — to rip
  10. staff — employees
  11. cell — in biology
  12. fork — in a road
  13. cold — an illness
  14. rash — hasty
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. tear — from crying
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. saw — the tool
  20. fine — high quality
  21. cell — a phone
  22. staff — a stick
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. cell — in a prison

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