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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. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — of a river
  2. last — final
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. bark — a dog's sound
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. last — to go on
  7. squash — to crush
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. chair — a leader
  10. bark — to shout
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. lie — to recline
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. wound — an injury
  16. squash — the sport
  17. bank — for money
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. bank — for money
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. last — finally
  22. branch — a division
  23. wound — an injury
  24. bark — of a tree

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