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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. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. fine — all right
  5. chest — of your body
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. mug — a cup
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. season — in sport
  10. object — to protest
  11. object — a thing
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. object — an aim
  14. mug — a face
  15. season — of the year
  16. mug — to rob
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. date — the fruit
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. chest — of your body
  21. chest — a box
  22. branch — a division
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. fine — high quality

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