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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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. cold — an illness
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. court — of law
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. pop — to visit
  11. march — the month
  12. court — of a king
  13. pop — music
  14. court — for sport
  15. bat — the animal
  16. march — the month
  17. stand — to bear
  18. pop — soda
  19. cold — not warm
  20. march — music
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. cold — the Cold War

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