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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. scale — in music
  6. spell — a short time
  7. scale — size or range
  8. tear — from crying
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. spell — letters
  13. wake — a trail
  14. cold — not warm
  15. tear — to rip
  16. tear — from crying
  17. spell — magic
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. cold — an illness
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. cabinet — ministers

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