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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 116 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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. spring — the season
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. spring — of water
  5. branch — a division
  6. clip — for paper
  7. row — to paddle
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. stand — to bear
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. clip — a video
  13. clip — to cut
  14. spring — a coil
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. face — to point toward
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. face — part of the head
  20. fine — high quality
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. face — to confront
  24. fine — all right

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