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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. bass — low music
  5. fall — to drop
  6. fall — to drop
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. bank — for money
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. branch — a division
  13. cold — an illness
  14. bank — for money
  15. bank — of a river
  16. clip — a video
  17. clip — to cut
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. fine — high quality
  20. bass — the fish
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. cold — not warm
  23. clip — for paper
  24. fine — all right

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