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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. spring — the season
  3. fall — the season
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. fall — to drop
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. fall — to drop
  10. file — a document
  11. bass — low music
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. mate — to breed
  14. spring — a coil
  15. scale — size or range
  16. mate — a partner
  17. branch — a division
  18. scale — in music
  19. file — a tool
  20. file — a line of people
  21. bass — the fish
  22. spring — of water
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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