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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. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. chest — of your body
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. march — the month
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. tear — from crying
  11. lean — to bend
  12. tear — from crying
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. chest — a box
  16. march — music
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. pound — a weight
  19. lean — thin
  20. chest — of your body
  21. tear — to rip
  22. cold — an illness
  23. march — the month
  24. cold — not warm

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