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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 ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. hand — help
  4. net — after costs
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. hand — in cards
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. lie — to recline
  10. branch — a division
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. craft — boats
  13. tear — from crying
  14. cold — an illness
  15. craft — a skill
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. tear — from crying
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. net — for catching
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. cold — not warm
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. tear — to rip

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