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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 124 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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. cold — an illness
  3. current — happening now
  4. mug — to rob
  5. current — of water
  6. board — to get on
  7. cold — not warm
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. spring — of water
  10. firm — a company
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. mug — a face
  13. current — electric
  14. board — a committee
  15. firm — decided
  16. spring — the season
  17. firm — steady
  18. cell — in biology
  19. mug — a cup
  20. cell — a phone
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. spring — a coil
  24. cell — in a prison

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