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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. track — a path
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. file — a tool
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. toast — bread
  9. cell — in biology
  10. file — a document
  11. rush — hurry
  12. track — a song
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. bound — obliged
  15. bound — tied together
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. branch — a division
  19. track — to keep track
  20. cell — a phone
  21. bound — certain
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. file — a line of people
  24. rush — to hurry

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