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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. file — a document
  3. branch — a division
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. bore — to tire
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. pop — to visit
  12. file — a tool
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. pop — soda
  15. bore — to drill
  16. capital — money
  17. capital — a city
  18. saw — the tool
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. saw — the tool
  21. wind — moving air
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. pop — music
  24. file — a line of people

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