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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. tear — to rip
  3. net — in sport
  4. board — a committee
  5. tear — from crying
  6. game — a match
  7. wind — moving air
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. cold — not warm
  10. dip — to sink
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. net — for catching
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. game — wild animals
  18. board — to get on
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. wind — moving air
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. net — after costs
  24. cold — an illness

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