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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. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. net — in sport
  4. tear — from crying
  5. cold — an illness
  6. kid — to tease
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. tear — from crying
  9. net — after costs
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. tear — to rip
  13. kid — child
  14. net — for catching
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. branch — a division
  17. perch — the fish
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. cold — not warm
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. racket — a loud noise

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