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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 124 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 usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. shower — to wash
  5. lie — to recline
  6. cell — a phone
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. branch — a division
  9. cell — in biology
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. object — to protest
  13. shower — rain
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. object — an aim
  16. cold — an illness
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. object — a thing
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. fork — in a road
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. cold — not warm
  24. bowl — a football final

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