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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. squash — to crush
  5. lean — thin
  6. swing — music
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. foot — a measure
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. cold — not warm
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. swing — in golf
  14. bark — to shout
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. squash — the sport
  17. lean — to bend
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. cold — an illness
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. branch — a division
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. swing — to play on

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