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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. branch — a division
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. file — a tool
  5. cap — a hat
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. fork — in a road
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. cap — a lid
  14. snap — to click
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. lean — thin
  17. cold — not warm
  18. file — a document
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. file — a line of people
  22. cap — of ice
  23. lean — to bend
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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