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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. cell — a phone
  3. sharp — clever
  4. last — finally
  5. bear — the animal
  6. pop — music
  7. net — after costs
  8. last — to go on
  9. season — in sport
  10. pop — to visit
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. pop — soda
  13. cell — in biology
  14. season — of the year
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. last — final
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. branch — a division
  21. bear — the animal
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. net — for catching
  24. bear — to put up with

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