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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. cold — not warm
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. band — a ring
  5. cold — an illness
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. spell — a short time
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. current — happening now
  12. scale — size or range
  13. current — electric
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. branch — a division
  18. scale — in music
  19. spell — magic
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. band — a music group
  23. spell — letters
  24. current — of water

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