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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. present — there
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. present — a gift
  5. swing — to play on
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. file — a line of people
  11. file — a document
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. swing — music
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. branch — a division
  16. scale — in music
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. cell — in biology
  19. cell — a phone
  20. scale — size or range
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. deal — to handle
  23. present — the time now
  24. swing — in golf

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