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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. cold — an illness
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. rest — what's left
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. cold — not warm
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. wound — an injury
  11. rest — what's left
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. root — the cause
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. root — of a plant
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. root — of a word
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. branch — a division
  23. wound — an injury
  24. rest — a break

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