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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. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. branch — a division
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. cold — not warm
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. pound — a weight
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. cold — an illness
  14. rush — hurry
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. tear — to rip
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. stock — goods
  22. stock — shares
  23. tear — from crying
  24. tear — from crying

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