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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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Word bank
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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: rest · cold · tear · leaves · swing · rock

  1. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. tear — from crying
  3. tear — from crying
  4. tear — to rip
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. leaves — lets stay
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. cold — not warm
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. rest — what's left
  12. rock — a stone
  13. swing — in golf
  14. rock — music
  15. cold — an illness
  16. swing — music
  17. rest — a break
  18. swing — to play on

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