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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. mine — for digging
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. plane — a tool
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. cold — an illness
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. cold — not warm
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. fine — all right
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. fine — high quality
  20. pound — a weight
  21. rock — a stone
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. branch — a division

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