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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: last · stand · cold · chair · rock · fine · tear · race

  1. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. tear — from crying
  4. cold — not warm
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. race — a contest
  7. last — final
  8. last — finally
  9. tear — from crying
  10. race — the arms race
  11. last — to go on
  12. chair — a leader
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. rock — a stone
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. tear — to rip
  18. race — humankind
  19. cold — an illness
  20. stand — to bear
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. rock — music
  24. fine — all right

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