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

Word bank: mate · arm · cold · bark · tear · lash · ruler · branch

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. tear — to rip
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. cold — an illness
  5. tear — from crying
  6. mate — a friend
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. mate — to breed
  13. branch — a division
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. mate — a partner
  19. tear — from crying
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. bark — to shout
  24. ruler — a monarch

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