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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. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. cold — not warm
  7. stock — shares
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. rush — hurry
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. branch — a division
  13. chest — of your body
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. chest — of your body
  16. stock — goods
  17. pitch — completely
  18. chest — a box
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. cold — an illness

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