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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. tear — to rip
  3. tear — from crying
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. kid — child
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. deal — to handle
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. tear — from crying
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. cold — an illness
  15. cold — not warm
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. pass — a permit
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. saw — the tool
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. saw — the tool

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