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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. bound — certain
  4. cold — not warm
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. bound — obliged
  7. pitch — completely
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. present — there
  11. stock — goods
  12. root — of a plant
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. cold — an illness
  15. present — the time now
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. branch — a division
  19. bound — tied together
  20. root — of a word
  21. stock — shares
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. root — the cause
  24. present — a gift

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