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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. When will it ________________ you to start?
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. chest — of your body
  3. suit — clothes
  4. tear — to rip
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. race — humankind
  7. wound — an injury
  8. scale — size or range
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. suit — to fit
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. scale — in music
  13. chest — a box
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. chest — of your body
  16. season — in sport
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. tear — from crying
  20. wound — an injury
  21. suit — in cards
  22. tear — from crying
  23. race — a contest
  24. race — the arms race

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