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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. march — the month
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. branch — a division
  6. season — in sport
  7. wake — a trail
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. object — an aim
  11. rush — hurry
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. march — music
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. season — of the year
  16. march — the month
  17. object — to protest
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. cold — an illness
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. object — a thing
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. cold — not warm

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