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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. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. pit — a hole
  4. branch — a division
  5. land — ground
  6. ground — crushed
  7. swing — to play on
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. bank — of a river
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. swing — music
  13. cold — not warm
  14. bank — for money
  15. cold — an illness
  16. bank — for money
  17. swing — in golf
  18. pit — in a race
  19. ground — a position
  20. ground — the earth
  21. land — a country
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. land — to come down
  24. perch — the fish

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