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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. spell — letters
  3. cold — an illness
  4. field — for sport
  5. prune — to trim
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. face — to point toward
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. field — farmland
  11. spell — a short time
  12. face — to confront
  13. rest — a break
  14. branch — a division
  15. spell — magic
  16. prune — to trim
  17. rest — what's left
  18. safe — a strongbox
  19. rest — what's left
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. face — part of the head
  22. cold — not warm
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. field — a subject

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