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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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. saw — the tool
  4. tear — from crying
  5. cap — a lid
  6. present — a gift
  7. saw — the tool
  8. mate — a friend
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. tear — to rip
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. branch — a division
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. cold — not warm
  15. mate — a partner
  16. cold — an illness
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. tear — from crying
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. mate — to breed
  21. present — the time now
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. present — there
  24. cap — a hat

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