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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. tear — from crying
  3. craft — a skill
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. cold — not warm
  6. rash — hasty
  7. cold — an illness
  8. ground — the earth
  9. tear — to rip
  10. row — to paddle
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. fall — to drop
  13. ground — crushed
  14. fall — to drop
  15. ground — a position
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. row — a line
  19. deal — to handle
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. rash — a series
  22. tear — from crying
  23. craft — boats
  24. deal — a big deal

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