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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 girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. last — finally
  3. tear — from crying
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. fine — high quality
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. tear — from crying
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. face — part of the head
  10. face — to confront
  11. row — to paddle
  12. face — to point toward
  13. band — a ring
  14. tear — to rip
  15. last — to go on
  16. cold — not warm
  17. cold — an illness
  18. band — a music group
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. fine — all right
  21. last — final
  22. lean — to bend
  23. lean — thin
  24. band — a rubber band

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