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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. David sat on the ________________.
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. swing — to play on
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. stand — to bear
  5. cold — not warm
  6. tear — to rip
  7. swing — in golf
  8. face — to point toward
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. ground — crushed
  11. tear — from crying
  12. bark — to shout
  13. face — to confront
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. ground — the earth
  16. ground — a position
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. swing — music
  19. fine — high quality
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. fine — all right
  22. face — part of the head
  23. cold — an illness
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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