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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  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. fan — to cool the air
  3. spring — a coil
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. tear — from crying
  7. spring — of water
  8. march — music
  9. tear — to rip
  10. cell — in biology
  11. cold — not warm
  12. cold — an illness
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. march — the month
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. march — the month
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. cell — a phone
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. spring — the season
  22. vault — a safe
  23. vault — an arched ceiling
  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