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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. bear — the animal
  3. face — to point toward
  4. staff — employees
  5. capital — money
  6. plane — a tool
  7. cold — not warm
  8. face — part of the head
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. face — to confront
  12. staff — employees
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. tear — from crying
  15. staff — a stick
  16. fall — to drop
  17. fall — to drop
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. bear — the animal
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. tear — from crying
  22. fall — the season
  23. capital — a city
  24. tear — to rip

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