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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. net — in sport
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. track — a path
  5. hand — help
  6. cold — an illness
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. tear — from crying
  12. tear — from crying
  13. root — of a word
  14. track — a song
  15. hand — in cards
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. track — to keep track
  18. net — for catching
  19. cold — not warm
  20. net — after costs
  21. root — of a plant
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. root — the cause
  24. cold — the Cold War

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