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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 116 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. The water is too ________________.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. board — a committee
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. tear — from crying
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. cold — an illness
  9. wake — a trail
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. tear — to rip
  14. board — to get on
  15. tear — from crying
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. rule — a law
  18. wind — moving air
  19. wind — moving air
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. fork — in a road
  23. rule — government
  24. board — a flat piece

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