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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 chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. dip — to sink
  3. mate — to breed
  4. branch — a division
  5. mate — a friend
  6. field — farmland
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. mark — a trace
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. cold — not warm
  12. field — for sport
  13. wind — moving air
  14. mark — a grade
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. cold — an illness
  20. mate — a partner
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. field — a subject
  23. wind — moving air
  24. dip — a sauce

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