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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. band — a ring
  3. band — a music group
  4. net — for catching
  5. fall — the season
  6. fall — to drop
  7. shower — rain
  8. stem — to come from
  9. net — after costs
  10. season — in sport
  11. cue — for pool
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. season — of the year
  14. fall — to drop
  15. branch — a division
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. cue — a hint
  18. shower — to wash
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. net — in sport
  24. cue — a signal

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