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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. tear — to rip
  3. wind — moving air
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. tear — from crying
  6. drill — the tool
  7. cold — an illness
  8. tear — from crying
  9. drill — army training
  10. race — the arms race
  11. cold — not warm
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. firm — a company
  14. race — a contest
  15. firm — decided
  16. hand — help
  17. root — the cause
  18. hand — in cards
  19. firm — steady
  20. root — of a word
  21. root — of a plant
  22. wind — moving air
  23. race — humankind
  24. drill — a practice

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