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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. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. tear — to rip
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. rule — government
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. tear — from crying
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. drill — a practice
  10. scale — size or range
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. chair — a leader
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. branch — a division
  16. tear — from crying
  17. cold — an illness
  18. drill — the tool
  19. cold — not warm
  20. dip — to sink
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. drill — army training
  23. rule — a law
  24. chair — a professorship

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