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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. cap — of ice
  4. cap — a hat
  5. pop — music
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. tear — to rip
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. tear — from crying
  11. pop — to visit
  12. bound — obliged
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. sharp — clever
  16. cold — an illness
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. tear — from crying
  19. pop — soda
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. bound — tied together
  22. lie — to recline
  23. cap — a lid
  24. bound — certain

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