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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. kid — child
  4. branch — a division
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. capital — a city
  8. saw — the tool
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. saw — the tool
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. capital — money
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. rash — a series
  17. present — a gift
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. rash — hasty
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. kid — to tease
  22. present — the time now
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. wake — a trail

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