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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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. stock — shares
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. cold — an illness
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. lie — to recline
  13. spring — a coil
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. spring — of water
  19. stock — goods
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. spring — the season
  23. cold — not warm
  24. cold — the Cold War

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