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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. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  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. pitch — a sales talk
  2. object — to protest
  3. cold — an illness
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. stock — goods
  6. object — a thing
  7. stock — shares
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. snap — to click
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. cold — not warm
  14. pitch — completely
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. object — an aim
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. bound — obliged
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. bound — tied together
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. branch — a division
  23. bound — certain
  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