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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
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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: cold · fan · pitcher · tear · last · bowl

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. last — to go on
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. cold — an illness
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. tear — to rip
  13. last — final
  14. tear — from crying
  15. last — finally
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. tear — from crying

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