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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. wake — a trail
  3. branch — a division
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. vault — a safe
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. spell — letters
  10. last — final
  11. present — there
  12. row — a line
  13. sharp — clever
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. row — to paddle
  16. present — the time now
  17. present — a gift
  18. spell — a short time
  19. last — finally
  20. last — to go on
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. spell — magic

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