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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. cold — not warm
  3. mate — a partner
  4. mate — to breed
  5. file — a tool
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. can — a tin
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. can — a tin
  14. fall — the season
  15. can — to be able to
  16. fork — in a road
  17. mate — a friend
  18. fall — to drop
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. branch — a division
  21. file — a document
  22. file — a line of people
  23. safe — a strongbox
  24. cold — an illness

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