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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 one o'clock ________________.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. file — a tool
  3. band — a music group
  4. fall — to drop
  5. fall — the season
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. sharp — clever
  8. present — a gift
  9. date — the fruit
  10. season — in sport
  11. present — there
  12. present — the time now
  13. file — a line of people
  14. fall — to drop
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. file — a document
  17. season — of the year
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. band — a ring
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. branch — a division
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. branch — of a tree

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