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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. saw — the tool
  3. present — the time now
  4. saw — the tool
  5. rest — what's left
  6. branch — a division
  7. present — a gift
  8. bulb — for light
  9. cold — not warm
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. bulb — for light
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. rest — what's left
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. bat — the animal
  18. rest — a break
  19. present — there
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. cold — an illness
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. ruler — for measuring

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