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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. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. When will it ________________ you to start?
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — in cards
  2. cold — not warm
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. tear — from crying
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. cold — an illness
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. snap — to click
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. suit — clothes
  12. tear — to rip
  13. row — to paddle
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. sharp — clever
  17. rush — hurry
  18. row — a line
  19. tear — from crying
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. suit — to fit
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. bowl — a football final

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