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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. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. mate — a partner
  3. scale — in music
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. date — the fruit
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. branch — a division
  8. track — a song
  9. last — final
  10. mate — a friend
  11. mate — to breed
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. spell — magic
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. scale — size or range
  16. last — to go on
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. track — to keep track
  19. spell — letters
  20. spell — a short time
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. track — a path
  24. last — finally

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