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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 · ruler · tear · sharp · bank · game · hide · race

  1. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. cold — not warm
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. tear — from crying
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. tear — to rip
  7. game — wild animals
  8. race — a contest
  9. tear — from crying
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. bank — of a river
  12. race — the arms race
  13. game — a match
  14. race — humankind
  15. bank — for money
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. sharp — clever
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. cold — an illness
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. ruler — a monarch
  24. sharp — with an edge

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