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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 116 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 seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. race — the arms race
  3. tear — from crying
  4. wind — moving air
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. cold — not warm
  8. cap — a lid
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. rash — a series
  11. race — a contest
  12. wind — moving air
  13. tear — from crying
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. rash — hasty
  17. tear — to rip
  18. band — a music group
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. cap — of ice
  21. race — humankind
  22. band — a ring
  23. cold — an illness
  24. cap — a hat

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