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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. season — of the year
  4. fall — to drop
  5. net — for catching
  6. fall — to drop
  7. spring — the season
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. rule — a law
  10. hand — help
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. hand — in cards
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. dip — to sink
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. spring — a coil
  18. net — after costs
  19. spring — of water
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. rule — government
  22. net — in sport
  23. season — in sport
  24. branch — a division

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