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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. cold — not warm
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. sharp — clever
  6. prune — to trim
  7. ground — the earth
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. track — a path
  11. ground — a position
  12. track — to keep track
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. ground — crushed
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. prune — to trim
  21. track — a song
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. cold — an illness
  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