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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. tear — from crying
  3. tear — to rip
  4. staff — a stick
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. cold — not warm
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. wake — a trail
  9. tear — from crying
  10. cold — an illness
  11. rest — a break
  12. dip — to sink
  13. club — for dancing
  14. staff — employees
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. rest — what's left
  19. club — a group
  20. wound — an injury
  21. staff — employees
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. rest — what's left
  24. club — for golf

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