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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 water is too ________________.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. tear — to rip
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. branch — a division
  6. cold — an illness
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. craft — boats
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. capital — a city
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. press — a publisher
  13. tear — from crying
  14. craft — a skill
  15. capital — money
  16. press — newspapers
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. tear — from crying
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. press — to push
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. plane — a tool

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