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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. cell — in biology
  6. track — a path
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. branch — a division
  10. cell — a phone
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. track — a song
  13. cold — an illness
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. cold — not warm
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. track — to keep track
  18. perch — the fish
  19. bass — low music
  20. bass — the fish
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. plane — a tool
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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