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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 office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. tear — to rip
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. branch — a division
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. staff — employees
  7. scale — in music
  8. scale — size or range
  9. land — ground
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. land — a country
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. sharp — clever
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. tear — from crying
  16. land — to come down
  17. tear — from crying
  18. saw — the tool
  19. staff — a stick
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. season — of the year
  22. season — in sport
  23. saw — the tool
  24. branch — of a bank

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