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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. That must've been a ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. rest — what's left
  6. season — in sport
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. rest — a break
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. rush — hurry
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. capital — a city
  14. capital — money
  15. cold — an illness
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. rest — what's left
  18. snap — to click
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. cold — not warm
  21. season — of the year
  22. branch — a division
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. branch — of a tree

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