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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. prune — to trim
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. squash — the sport
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. cold — not warm
  11. scale — size or range
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. branch — a division
  14. cold — an illness
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. foot — a measure
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. scale — in music
  24. prune — to trim

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