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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. cold — an illness
  3. mark — a grade
  4. mark — a trace
  5. charge — electricity
  6. branch — a division
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. fall — the season
  9. charge — in control
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. rest — what's left
  12. band — a music group
  13. band — a ring
  14. rest — what's left
  15. fall — to drop
  16. fall — to drop
  17. rest — a break
  18. wind — moving air
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. charge — a price
  23. wind — moving air
  24. mark — to pay attention

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