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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. tear — to rip
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. board — a committee
  12. board — to get on
  13. tear — from crying
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. kick — in football
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. cold — not warm
  19. cold — an illness
  20. branch — a division
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. stand — to bear
  23. tear — from crying
  24. branch — of a tree

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