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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. spring — of water
  3. pass — to spend time
  4. cap — a hat
  5. cap — a lid
  6. cap — of ice
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. tear — to rip
  9. pass — a permit
  10. craft — a skill
  11. cold — an illness
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. craft — boats
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. spring — a coil
  16. cold — not warm
  17. tear — from crying
  18. prune — to trim
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. fork — in a road
  22. spring — the season
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. prune — to trim

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