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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. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. rest — what's left
  3. rest — a break
  4. drill — the tool
  5. bass — low music
  6. lean — to bend
  7. rest — what's left
  8. spell — magic
  9. drill — a practice
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. prune — to trim
  13. branch — a division
  14. wind — moving air
  15. bass — the fish
  16. spell — letters
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. prune — to trim
  19. wind — moving air
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. spell — a short time
  22. drill — army training
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. lean — thin

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