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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 120 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. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. current — electric
  3. cell — in biology
  4. current — happening now
  5. firm — decided
  6. cold — an illness
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. firm — a company
  9. branch — a division
  10. march — music
  11. cold — not warm
  12. firm — steady
  13. bulb — for light
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. cell — a phone
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. row — a line
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. march — the month
  21. current — of water
  22. bulb — for light
  23. row — to paddle
  24. march — the month

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