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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. wind — moving air
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. net — in sport
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. season — of the year
  10. wound — an injury
  11. net — after costs
  12. net — for catching
  13. bank — of a river
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. season — in sport
  16. bulb — for light
  17. bank — for money
  18. bulb — for light
  19. wind — moving air
  20. bank — for money
  21. wound — an injury
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. branch — a division

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