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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. pop — soda
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. pop — to visit
  6. present — there
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. squash — to crush
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. squash — the sport
  11. lie — to recline
  12. cold — an illness
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. branch — a division
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. pop — music
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. hand — in cards
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. hand — help
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. present — the time now
  24. cold — not warm

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