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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. lie — to recline
  3. season — of the year
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. court — of law
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. season — in sport
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. wound — an injury
  11. kick — in football
  12. branch — a division
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. court — of a king
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. court — for sport
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. wound — an injury
  19. file — a tool
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. file — a line of people
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. file — a document
  24. lie — an untruth

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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