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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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. staff — a stick
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. tear — to rip
  7. tear — from crying
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. perch — the fish
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. staff — employees
  12. pitch — completely
  13. roll — a list
  14. lie — to recline
  15. staff — employees
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. cold — an illness
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. branch — a division
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. cold — not warm
  22. tear — from crying
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. perch — for a bird

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