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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 116 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 polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. squash — to crush
  4. rash — hasty
  5. cap — a lid
  6. wind — moving air
  7. staff — employees
  8. staff — employees
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. pass — a permit
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. wind — moving air
  13. branch — a division
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. tear — to rip
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. squash — the sport
  18. tear — from crying
  19. staff — a stick
  20. rash — a series
  21. cap — a hat
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. tear — from crying

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