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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. pit — a hole
  3. saw — the tool
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. saw — the tool
  8. lie — to recline
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. branch — a division
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. spring — a coil
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. face — to confront
  17. face — to point toward
  18. pit — in a race
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. face — part of the head
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. spring — the season
  23. spring — of water
  24. lie — an untruth

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