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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. tear — to rip
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. row — to paddle
  6. cold — not warm
  7. cold — an illness
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. wind — moving air
  10. snap — to click
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. row — a line
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. tear — from crying
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. can — a tin
  18. tear — from crying
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. can — a tin
  21. wind — moving air
  22. can — to be able to
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. calf — of the leg

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