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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. dip — to sink
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. key — for a lock
  8. branch — a division
  9. snap — to click
  10. file — a line of people
  11. file — a tool
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. key — the most important part
  14. pitch — completely
  15. file — a document
  16. season — of the year
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. key — in music
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. stem — to come from
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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