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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. track — to keep track
  4. court — for sport
  5. tear — to rip
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. cold — an illness
  8. stem — to come from
  9. season — in sport
  10. tear — from crying
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. rash — a series
  13. court — of law
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. firm — a company
  16. track — a song
  17. firm — decided
  18. track — a path
  19. rash — hasty
  20. firm — steady
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. cold — not warm
  23. court — of a king
  24. season — of the year

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