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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 120 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. The water is too ________________.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. cold — not warm
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. cold — an illness
  5. chest — of your body
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. chest — a box
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. file — a line of people
  10. stock — shares
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. safe — a strongbox
  13. season — in sport
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. chest — of your body
  16. stock — goods
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. file — a tool
  19. season — of the year
  20. file — a document
  21. bear — the animal
  22. branch — a division
  23. bear — the animal
  24. stock — a soup base

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