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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 116 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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. court — for sport
  5. saw — the tool
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. saw — the tool
  8. chip — for betting
  9. season — of the year
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. wound — an injury
  12. shower — to wash
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. chip — to eat
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. court — of law
  18. court — of a king
  19. shower — rain
  20. season — in sport
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. squash — to crush
  23. squash — the sport
  24. wound — an injury

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