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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. branch — a division
  3. present — a gift
  4. last — to go on
  5. present — there
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. jam — a tight spot
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. last — finally
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. chip — to eat
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. last — final
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. present — the time now
  18. file — a document
  19. jam — to spread on bread
  20. drill — the tool
  21. file — a line of people
  22. drill — army training
  23. chip — for betting
  24. drill — a practice

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