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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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. season — in sport
  3. season — of the year
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. pass — a permit
  7. file — a tool
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. shower — rain
  13. band — a music group
  14. band — a ring
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. sharp — clever
  19. foot — a measure
  20. file — a line of people
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. shower — to wash
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. file — a document

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