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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.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: cold · scale · dip · branch · season · can · tear · squash

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. cold — not warm
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. can — to be able to
  7. scale — in music
  8. cold — an illness
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. scale — size or range
  11. tear — from crying
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. squash — to crush
  14. branch — a division
  15. tear — to rip
  16. can — a tin
  17. season — of the year
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. can — a tin
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. squash — the sport
  22. dip — to sink
  23. season — in sport
  24. season — to add flavour

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