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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. dip — to sink
  9. tear — to rip
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. cold — an illness
  13. branch — a division
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. prune — to trim
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. tear — from crying
  22. tear — from crying
  23. prune — to trim
  24. lash — to lash out

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