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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: rash · tear · wind · cold · cap · mouse

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. cap — a lid
  3. tear — from crying
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. cap — of ice
  6. rash — hasty
  7. tear — from crying
  8. cold — an illness
  9. wind — moving air
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. tear — to rip
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. cap — a hat
  15. cold — not warm
  16. rash — a series
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. wind — moving air

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