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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. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. cold — an illness
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. band — a music group
  7. spring — of water
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. season — in sport
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. cold — not warm
  13. spring — the season
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. craft — a skill
  16. fall — the season
  17. spring — a coil
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. fall — to drop
  21. season — of the year
  22. craft — boats
  23. band — a ring
  24. branch — a division

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