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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  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. tear — from crying
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. saw — the tool
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. rule — a law
  9. scale — in music
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. rule — government
  12. saw — the tool
  13. tear — from crying
  14. cold — an illness
  15. scale — size or range
  16. tear — to rip
  17. stand — to bear
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. cold — not warm
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. hide — to keep secret
  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