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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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. cold — not warm
  3. cold — an illness
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. object — to protest
  7. object — an aim
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. spell — letters
  10. capital — money
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. object — a thing
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. scale — size or range
  16. spell — a short time
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. capital — a city
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. spell — magic
  22. scale — in music
  23. pitch — completely
  24. coach — a trainer

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