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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. spring — of water
  3. spring — a coil
  4. rash — hasty
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. dip — to sink
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. cold — not warm
  9. rash — a series
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. deal — to handle
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. tear — from crying
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. tear — from crying
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. cold — an illness
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. spring — the season
  23. foot — a measure
  24. tear — to rip

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