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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. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. My mare is ________________ in color.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. cell — in biology
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. branch — a division
  5. pop — soda
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. cell — a phone
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. present — a gift
  10. cold — not warm
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. cold — an illness
  15. pop — music
  16. wound — an injury
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. wound — an injury
  19. pop — to visit
  20. present — the time now
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. present — there
  24. bay — a horse colour

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