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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 don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. hand — help
  4. hand — in cards
  5. rock — a stone
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. branch — a division
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. cold — an illness
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. fall — to drop
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. fall — to drop
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. cold — not warm
  18. rest — what's left
  19. rest — a break
  20. rest — what's left
  21. fall — the season
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. hand — part of the body

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