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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. tear — from crying
  3. board — a committee
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. tear — to rip
  6. cold — not warm
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. present — the time now
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. face — part of the head
  11. net — for catching
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. net — after costs
  14. present — there
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. net — in sport
  17. present — a gift
  18. dip — to sink
  19. face — to confront
  20. face — to point toward
  21. cold — an illness
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. board — to get on

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