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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 hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. last — final
  4. branch — a division
  5. fine — high quality
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. current — happening now
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. last — to go on
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. current — of water
  14. spring — the season
  15. spring — a coil
  16. kid — child
  17. chair — a leader
  18. last — finally
  19. season — of the year
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. current — electric
  22. kid — to tease
  23. fine — all right
  24. season — in sport

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