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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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. file — a line of people
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. bass — low music
  9. bass — the fish
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. file — a tool
  12. mine — for digging
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. date — the fruit
  15. pass — a permit
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. lie — to recline
  20. file — a document
  21. branch — a division
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. date — on the calendar

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