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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. game — a match
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. branch — a division
  7. present — the time now
  8. deal — to handle
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. present — a gift
  11. cold — not warm
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. rash — a series
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. game — wild animals
  16. cold — an illness
  17. present — there
  18. rash — on the skin

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