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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. fall — to drop
  4. fall — to drop
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. spring — the season
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. clip — to cut
  9. clip — for paper
  10. clip — a video
  11. spell — letters
  12. fall — the season
  13. spell — a short time
  14. roll — a cake
  15. spell — magic
  16. spring — of water
  17. roll — a list
  18. fine — all right
  19. date — the fruit
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. branch — a division
  22. spring — a coil
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. date — on the calendar

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