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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. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. foot — a measure
  3. cold — an illness
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. cold — not warm
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. rash — hasty
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. perch — the fish
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. march — music
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. saw — the tool
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. march — the month
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. branch — a division
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. saw — the tool
  23. kick — in football
  24. march — the month

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