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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. fine — all right
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. wound — an injury
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. fine — high quality
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. scale — in music
  15. scale — size or range
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. ball — a dance
  18. wound — an injury
  19. wind — moving air
  20. ball — a great time
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. branch — a division
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. wind — moving air

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