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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. cold — not warm
  3. saw — the tool
  4. craft — a skill
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. fall — to drop
  8. fall — to drop
  9. capital — money
  10. saw — the tool
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. branch — a division
  13. capital — a city
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. pitch — completely
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. fall — the season
  19. craft — boats
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. cold — an illness

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