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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. tear — from crying
  4. tear — from crying
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. shower — rain
  7. shower — to wash
  8. cold — not warm
  9. kick — in football
  10. land — ground
  11. rash — hasty
  12. toast — the most admired
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. land — to come down
  15. land — a country
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. toast — bread
  19. tear — to rip
  20. rash — a series
  21. toast — a drink to someone
  22. stand — to bear
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. stand — for spectators

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