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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 124 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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. mark — a trace
  5. hand — in cards
  6. branch — a division
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. chair — a leader
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. cold — not warm
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. snap — to click
  16. tear — from crying
  17. tear — to rip
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. tear — from crying
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. cold — an illness
  22. mark — a grade
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. hand — help

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