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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. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — the bottom
  2. branch — a division
  3. pitch — completely
  4. tube — the underground
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. foot — a measure
  7. cold — an illness
  8. row — a line
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. tube — a container
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. wound — an injury
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. snap — to click
  16. row — to paddle
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. wound — an injury
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. branch — of a bank
  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