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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. tear — from crying
  4. swing — to play on
  5. cold — an illness
  6. last — to go on
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. last — finally
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. swing — in golf
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. cold — not warm
  15. tear — from crying
  16. bore — to tire
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. sharp — clever
  19. swing — music
  20. last — final
  21. cell — a phone
  22. cell — in biology
  23. bore — to drill
  24. bore — gave birth

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