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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. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. rock — a stone
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. mug — a face
  4. branch — a division
  5. mug — a cup
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. capital — money
  8. capital — a city
  9. rock — music
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. last — to go on
  12. row — a line
  13. deal — to handle
  14. row — to paddle
  15. last — finally
  16. wind — moving air
  17. last — final
  18. wind — moving air
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. mug — to rob

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