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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. scale — in music
  3. bore — to tire
  4. branch — a division
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. last — final
  7. fine — all right
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. fine — high quality
  10. mark — a trace
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. cold — an illness
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. scale — size or range
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. bore — to drill
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. cold — not warm
  20. mark — a grade
  21. last — to go on
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. pitch — completely

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