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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. The tickets are free of ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. tear — from crying
  3. lean — thin
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. deal — to handle
  6. charge — electricity
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. tear — to rip
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. land — a country
  11. lean — to bend
  12. date — the fruit
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. charge — in control
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. tear — from crying
  20. land — ground
  21. cold — an illness
  22. cold — not warm
  23. land — to come down
  24. cold — the Cold War

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