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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. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. row — to paddle
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. pit — in a race
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. lie — to recline
  11. squash — the sport
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. squash — to crush
  14. cold — an illness
  15. pit — a hole
  16. cold — not warm
  17. bat — the animal
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. deal — to handle
  22. branch — a division
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. row — a line

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