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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. wound — an injury
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. rule — government
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. current — happening now
  9. dip — to sink
  10. pass — a permit
  11. season — of the year
  12. season — in sport
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. current — of water
  15. wound — an injury
  16. tear — from crying
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. cold — an illness
  19. tear — from crying
  20. current — electric
  21. rule — a law
  22. cold — not warm
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. season — to add flavour

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