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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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. last — to go on
  3. mug — a face
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. mug — a cup
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. season — of the year
  10. last — final
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. bore — to drill
  13. mug — to rob
  14. cold — an illness
  15. capital — a city
  16. bore — to tire
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. cold — not warm
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. capital — money
  23. season — in sport
  24. last — finally

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