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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 120 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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. branch — a division
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. pit — a hole
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. file — a document
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. file — a tool
  11. mine — for digging
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. file — a line of people
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. pit — in a race
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. last — final
  21. deal — to handle
  22. last — finally
  23. pound — a weight
  24. arm — part of the body

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