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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 116 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 hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — to recline
  2. wound — an injury
  3. track — a song
  4. bank — of a river
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. row — a line
  8. wound — an injury
  9. branch — a division
  10. track — to keep track
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. bank — for money
  16. track — a path
  17. bank — for money
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. row — to paddle
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. cold — not warm
  23. cold — an illness
  24. calf — a young animal

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