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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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Where did you ________________ them?
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. branch — a division
  3. cell — a phone
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. saw — the tool
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. mug — to rob
  11. mug — a face
  12. wound — an injury
  13. saw — the tool
  14. season — of the year
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. wound — an injury
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. tear — from crying
  19. mug — a cup
  20. mine — for digging
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. cell — in biology
  23. tear — to rip
  24. tear — from crying

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