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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. object — to protest
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. cold — an illness
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. roll — a cake
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. season — in sport
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. cue — for pool
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. roll — a list
  14. pound — a weight
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. object — an aim
  17. cold — not warm
  18. object — a thing
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. pitch — completely
  21. cue — a signal
  22. cue — a hint
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. branch — a division

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