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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. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. present — there
  3. spell — magic
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. spell — a short time
  6. wind — moving air
  7. cell — in biology
  8. file — a tool
  9. lean — thin
  10. lean — to bend
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. last — final
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. branch — a division
  15. cell — a phone
  16. present — a gift
  17. file — a line of people
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. spell — letters
  20. last — to go on
  21. wind — moving air
  22. last — finally
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. present — the time now

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