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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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. rest — what's left
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. cold — an illness
  5. rock — a stone
  6. rock — music
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. cap — a lid
  9. cold — not warm
  10. scale — in music
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. rest — a break
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. bat — the animal
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. rest — what's left
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. cap — a hat
  19. cap — of ice
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. scale — size or range
  24. rock — to move gently

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