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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 cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. season — of the year
  3. tear — from crying
  4. swing — in golf
  5. branch — a division
  6. can — a tin
  7. swing — to play on
  8. cold — not warm
  9. cue — a hint
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. can — to be able to
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. face — part of the head
  14. cue — a signal
  15. cold — an illness
  16. swing — music
  17. face — to confront
  18. face — to point toward
  19. can — a tin
  20. cue — for pool
  21. season — in sport
  22. tear — to rip
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. cold — the Cold War

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