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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. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. My mare is ________________ in color.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. pit — in a race
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. mine — for digging
  7. branch — a division
  8. wake — a trail
  9. pit — a hole
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. scale — size or range
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. bay — a horse colour
  19. cold — an illness
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. lean — to bend
  22. lean — thin
  23. cold — not warm
  24. branch — of a tree

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