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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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  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. branch — of a bank
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. season — of the year
  4. shower — rain
  5. cold — not warm
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. lean — to bend
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. branch — a division
  10. lean — thin
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. season — in sport
  13. plane — a tool
  14. scale — size or range
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. scale — in music
  20. cold — an illness
  21. shower — to wash
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. hide — animal skin
  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