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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: cold · rule · chest · mug · tear · stick

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. 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 — the Cold War
  2. cold — not warm
  3. chest — a box
  4. chest — of your body
  5. cold — an illness
  6. chest — of your body
  7. rule — government
  8. tear — from crying
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. tear — from crying
  11. rule — a law
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. mug — to rob
  14. mug — a cup
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. mug — a face
  18. 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