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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. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. cold — not warm
  3. rule — government
  4. cap — a lid
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. craft — boats
  7. tear — from crying
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. rule — a law
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. branch — a division
  14. cap — of ice
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. craft — a skill
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. saw — the tool
  19. cold — an illness
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. tear — from crying
  22. cap — a hat
  23. tear — to rip
  24. saw — the tool

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