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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. season — of the year
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. pound — a weight
  5. drill — a practice
  6. file — a document
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. jam — in traffic
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. file — a line of people
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. branch — a division
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. drill — the tool
  21. drill — army training
  22. file — a tool
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. season — to add flavour

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