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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  6. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. wind — moving air
  3. toast — bread
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. hide — animal skin
  6. toast — the most admired
  7. cold — not warm
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. wind — moving air
  10. tear — from crying
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. tear — from crying
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. cold — an illness
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. cell — in biology
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. deal — to handle
  22. tear — to rip
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. cell — a phone

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