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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. game — wild animals
  3. object — to protest
  4. rush — hurry
  5. cold — not warm
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. rock — music
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. cold — an illness
  11. saw — the tool
  12. branch — a division
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. rock — a stone
  16. object — an aim
  17. object — a thing
  18. game — a match
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. saw — the tool
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. game — a kind of play

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