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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 120 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. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. tear — from crying
  5. file — a line of people
  6. cold — not warm
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. lean — to bend
  9. pound — a weight
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. tear — to rip
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. file — a document
  17. wake — a trail
  18. lean — thin
  19. cold — an illness
  20. tear — from crying
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. file — a tool
  23. stand — to bear
  24. pound — to hit hard

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