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

  1. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. present — there
  3. bore — to tire
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. present — a gift
  6. tube — a container
  7. cell — in biology
  8. branch — a division
  9. wind — moving air
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. land — to come down
  12. present — the time now
  13. tube — the underground
  14. land — ground
  15. wind — moving air
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. land — a country
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. cell — a phone
  21. sharp — clever
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. bore — to drill
  24. tube — in a tire

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