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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 water is too ________________.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. My mare is ________________ in color.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. chest — of your body
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. wind — moving air
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. cold — an illness
  7. wind — moving air
  8. track — to keep track
  9. branch — a division
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. track — a path
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. track — a song
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. chest — a box
  22. bay — a horse colour
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. chest — of your body

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