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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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. lean — to bend
  3. spell — letters
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. cue — a signal
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. cue — a hint
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. spell — a short time
  11. lean — thin
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. scale — in music
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. cue — for pool
  17. spell — magic
  18. cold — not warm
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. scale — size or range
  22. cold — an illness
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. sharp — clever

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