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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. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. last — to go on
  5. jam — a tight spot
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. cold — not warm
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. cold — an illness
  14. last — finally
  15. branch — a division
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. toast — a drink to someone
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. toast — bread
  21. season — in sport
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. last — final
  24. season — of the year

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