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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  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. scale — size or range
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. rash — a series
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. cold — not warm
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. swing — to play on
  8. swing — in golf
  9. lean — thin
  10. swing — music
  11. scale — in music
  12. tear — from crying
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. tear — from crying
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. dip — to sink
  18. branch — a division
  19. cold — an illness
  20. lean — to bend
  21. rash — hasty
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. scale — for weighing
  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