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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. dip — to sink
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. squash — to crush
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. last — to go on
  7. branch — a division
  8. last — finally
  9. swing — to play on
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. cold — not warm
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. cold — an illness
  16. last — final
  17. pitch — completely
  18. wake — a trail
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. swing — music
  22. swing — in golf
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. squash — the sport

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