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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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. cold — an illness
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. key — in music
  6. pop — to visit
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. pass — a permit
  9. pop — soda
  10. stand — to bear
  11. prune — to trim
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. pop — music
  14. key — the most important part
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. tear — to rip
  17. key — for a lock
  18. prune — to trim
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. tear — from crying
  22. wound — an injury
  23. cold — not warm
  24. wound — an injury

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