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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. fine — all right
  3. land — to come down
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. fine — high quality
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. land — ground
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. current — happening now
  10. branch — a division
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. season — of the year
  13. pop — to visit
  14. current — of water
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. cell — a phone
  17. season — in sport
  18. land — a country
  19. current — electric
  20. cell — in biology
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. pop — soda
  23. wake — a trail
  24. pop — music

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