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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. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. deal — to handle
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. swing — music
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. swing — to play on
  7. cold — not warm
  8. stock — goods
  9. cold — an illness
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. hand — in cards
  12. branch — a division
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. tear — from crying
  15. tube — the underground
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. hand — help
  18. stock — shares
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. tear — from crying
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. tube — a container
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. swing — in golf

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