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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 120 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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. wake — a trail
  6. lean — to bend
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. lean — thin
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. spell — a short time
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. mine — for digging
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. spell — magic
  18. cell — a phone
  19. sharp — clever
  20. cell — in biology
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. spell — letters
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. branch — a division

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