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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 train ________________ at six o'clock.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — to go away
  2. shower — to wash
  3. ground — a position
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. ground — the earth
  6. mate — to breed
  7. ground — crushed
  8. rest — what's left
  9. cold — not warm
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. cold — an illness
  12. shower — rain
  13. mate — a partner
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. mate — a friend
  16. tear — from crying
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. tear — to rip
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. rest — what's left
  21. rest — a break
  22. tear — from crying
  23. kick — in football
  24. leaves — lets stay

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