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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 116 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 dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. season — of the year
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. branch — a division
  5. bulb — for light
  6. shower — to wash
  7. fall — to drop
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. season — in sport
  10. cold — an illness
  11. fork — in a road
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. fall — the season
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. cold — not warm
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. bulb — for light
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. lie — to recline
  23. fall — to drop
  24. shower — rain

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