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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. fork — in a road
  4. pass — a permit
  5. rock — music
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. cell — a phone
  8. cold — an illness
  9. branch — a division
  10. cell — in biology
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. last — finally
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. rock — a stone
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. last — to go on
  18. last — final
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. pass — to succeed

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