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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. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. fall — the season
  3. squash — the sport
  4. fall — to drop
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. toast — bread
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. season — of the year
  11. branch — a division
  12. season — in sport
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. row — to paddle
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. board — to get on
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. squash — to crush
  20. board — a committee
  21. fall — to drop
  22. row — a line
  23. cell — in biology
  24. cell — a phone

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