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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. mine — for digging
  3. cold — not warm
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. lie — to recline
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. tear — from crying
  12. fine — all right
  13. cold — an illness
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. squash — to crush
  18. squash — the sport
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. tear — from crying
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. tear — to rip
  24. ruler — for measuring

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