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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. mate — a friend
  3. branch — a division
  4. fall — the season
  5. wound — an injury
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. current — of water
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. mine — for digging
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. fall — to drop
  13. current — electric
  14. file — a tool
  15. mate — a partner
  16. fine — high quality
  17. file — a document
  18. fine — all right
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. current — happening now
  22. mate — to breed
  23. fall — to drop
  24. file — a line of people

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