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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: mark · cabinet · cold · race · pit · hide · tear · calf

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. tear — to rip
  4. race — humankind
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. race — the arms race
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. cold — not warm
  9. pit — in a race
  10. cold — an illness
  11. pit — a hole
  12. mark — a trace
  13. tear — from crying
  14. mark — a grade
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. race — a contest
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. calf — of the leg

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