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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. mate — a partner
  3. bank — for money
  4. bound — tied together
  5. rash — a series
  6. tear — from crying
  7. bank — for money
  8. tear — to rip
  9. cold — not warm
  10. row — a line
  11. row — to paddle
  12. cold — an illness
  13. mate — a friend
  14. shower — rain
  15. bound — certain
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. mate — to breed
  18. bank — of a river
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. bound — obliged
  22. tear — from crying
  23. rash — hasty
  24. shower — to wash

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