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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. branch — a division
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. rush — hurry
  5. spring — a coil
  6. last — final
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. fall — to drop
  10. fall — the season
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. spring — of water
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. last — to go on
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. fall — to drop
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. last — finally
  21. spring — the season
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. pitch — completely
  24. pitch — a sports field

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