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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. sharp — clever
  3. capital — a city
  4. net — in sport
  5. branch — a division
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. firm — steady
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. file — a document
  11. wound — an injury
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. net — after costs
  16. file — a tool
  17. firm — a company
  18. lie — to recline
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. file — a line of people
  21. capital — money
  22. wound — an injury
  23. firm — decided
  24. branch — of a tree

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