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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 · mug · fork · rest · saw · bay · arm · tear

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. tear — from crying
  4. mug — to rob
  5. saw — the tool
  6. tear — to rip
  7. rest — what's left
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. saw — the tool
  11. cold — not warm
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. fork — in a road
  18. mug — a cup
  19. rest — what's left
  20. mug — a face
  21. tear — from crying
  22. rest — a break
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. cold — an illness

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