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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. branch — a division
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. spell — a short time
  9. spell — magic
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. chip — for betting
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. spell — letters
  14. row — to paddle
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. cold — not warm
  18. last — to go on
  19. cold — an illness
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. row — a line
  23. chip — to eat
  24. last — final

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