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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. There's no middle ________________.
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. ground — a position
  3. object — an aim
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. mark — a trace
  8. rock — music
  9. can — a tin
  10. can — to be able to
  11. ground — crushed
  12. object — a thing
  13. cold — not warm
  14. tear — from crying
  15. tear — to rip
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. rock — a stone
  19. object — to protest
  20. cold — an illness
  21. ground — the earth
  22. mark — a grade
  23. can — a tin
  24. mark — to pay attention

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