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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. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. tube — a container
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. cold — not warm
  5. fall — to drop
  6. tear — from crying
  7. tear — from crying
  8. face — part of the head
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. fall — the season
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. cold — an illness
  14. fall — to drop
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. tube — the underground
  17. face — to point toward
  18. face — to confront
  19. pass — a permit
  20. tear — to rip
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. tube — in a tire

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