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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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. last — finally
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. cold — not warm
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. shower — rain
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. shower — to wash
  13. mug — to rob
  14. branch — a division
  15. last — final
  16. mug — a face
  17. mug — a cup
  18. march — the month
  19. march — the month
  20. pass — a permit
  21. cold — an illness
  22. march — music
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. last — to go on

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