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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 · wave · rest · tear · swing · lean · fan · stand

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. rest — what's left
  5. lean — to bend
  6. rest — what's left
  7. lean — thin
  8. swing — to play on
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. swing — in golf
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. rest — a break
  13. tear — from crying
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. tear — to rip
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. swing — music
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. stand — to bear
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. cold — an illness
  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