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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. lie — to recline
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. land — to come down
  6. land — a country
  7. rock — music
  8. tear — from crying
  9. bound — tied together
  10. bound — certain
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. season — in sport
  13. bound — obliged
  14. cold — an illness
  15. rock — a stone
  16. land — ground
  17. tear — to rip
  18. net — in sport
  19. cold — not warm
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. tear — from crying
  23. net — after costs
  24. season — of the year

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