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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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. rest — what's left
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. field — farmland
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. sharp — clever
  9. capital — money
  10. tear — from crying
  11. branch — a division
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. pit — a hole
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. tear — from crying
  17. pit — in a race
  18. capital — a city
  19. rest — what's left
  20. rest — a break
  21. field — for sport
  22. field — a subject
  23. tear — to rip
  24. sharp — exactly

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