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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. cold — not warm
  3. face — part of the head
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. ground — a position
  7. bound — certain
  8. tear — from crying
  9. face — to confront
  10. tube — a container
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. ground — the earth
  13. lean — to bend
  14. face — to point toward
  15. cold — an illness
  16. tear — to rip
  17. craft — a skill
  18. lean — thin
  19. bound — obliged
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. tear — from crying
  22. craft — boats
  23. tube — the underground
  24. bound — tied together

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