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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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. bulb — for light
  3. bank — of a river
  4. branch — a division
  5. cap — of ice
  6. roll — a cake
  7. staff — a stick
  8. cap — a hat
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. bank — for money
  12. row — a line
  13. chest — a box
  14. bulb — for light
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. row — to paddle
  17. roll — a list
  18. chest — of your body
  19. cap — a lid
  20. chest — of your body
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. staff — employees
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. bank — for money

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