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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. court — for sport
  3. branch — a division
  4. can — a tin
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. last — to go on
  7. saw — the tool
  8. can — a tin
  9. last — finally
  10. mate — a friend
  11. saw — the tool
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. staff — a stick
  15. staff — employees
  16. staff — employees
  17. court — of law
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. perch — the fish
  20. court — of a king
  21. mate — to breed
  22. last — final
  23. can — to be able to
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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