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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 120 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. shower — to wash
  4. scale — in music
  5. race — a contest
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. shower — rain
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. race — humankind
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. cold — an illness
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. branch — a division
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. race — the arms race
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. scale — size or range
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. deal — to handle

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