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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. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. season — in sport
  5. spell — magic
  6. drill — the tool
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. mate — a friend
  9. tear — from crying
  10. fall — to drop
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. drill — a practice
  13. tear — to rip
  14. fall — the season
  15. branch — a division
  16. tear — from crying
  17. mate — to breed
  18. spell — a short time
  19. spell — letters
  20. season — of the year
  21. pit — in a race
  22. fall — to drop
  23. drill — army training
  24. pit — a hole

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