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

  1. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. scale — size or range
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. branch — a division
  6. scale — in music
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. cold — not warm
  11. cold — an illness
  12. tear — from crying
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. tear — from crying
  15. sharp — clever
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. mark — a trace
  22. mark — a grade
  23. stand — to bear
  24. tear — to rip

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