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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 124 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. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. rest — a break
  5. rest — what's left
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. tear — to rip
  8. rest — what's left
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. cold — an illness
  11. tear — from crying
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. scale — in music
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. cold — not warm
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. snap — to click
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. scale — size or range
  24. cold — the Cold War

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