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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 116 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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. cap — a lid
  6. season — in sport
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. content — the amount
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. row — a line
  11. saw — the tool
  12. spring — the season
  13. branch — a division
  14. cap — a hat
  15. season — of the year
  16. cap — of ice
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. spring — of water
  19. content — happy
  20. spring — a coil
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. saw — the tool
  23. row — to paddle
  24. branch — of a tree

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