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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. cell — in biology
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. season — of the year
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. ground — a position
  8. cell — a phone
  9. present — there
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. bound — tied together
  13. bound — certain
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. row — to paddle
  16. branch — a division
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. season — in sport
  19. present — the time now
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. ground — the earth
  22. present — a gift
  23. ground — crushed
  24. bound — obliged

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