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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. cold — an illness
  3. cap — a lid
  4. land — ground
  5. land — to come down
  6. branch — a division
  7. mate — a friend
  8. cap — of ice
  9. mate — a partner
  10. lean — thin
  11. cold — not warm
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. cell — a phone
  14. mate — to breed
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. land — a country
  19. lean — to bend
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. cell — in biology
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. cap — a hat
  24. cell — in a prison

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