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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 120 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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. net — for catching
  3. squash — to crush
  4. saw — the tool
  5. season — in sport
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. net — in sport
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. rash — hasty
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. rash — a series
  13. branch — a division
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. season — of the year
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. squash — the sport
  20. saw — the tool
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. net — after costs
  24. leaves — to go away

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