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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. lean — thin
  3. band — a music group
  4. fine — high quality
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. lean — to bend
  7. cold — not warm
  8. ground — a position
  9. tear — to rip
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. last — final
  13. fine — all right
  14. rest — what's left
  15. ground — crushed
  16. last — to go on
  17. last — finally
  18. ground — the earth
  19. rest — a break
  20. rest — what's left
  21. tear — from crying
  22. tear — from crying
  23. band — a ring
  24. cold — an illness

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