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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. last — final
  3. last — finally
  4. present — there
  5. last — to go on
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. cold — an illness
  8. present — the time now
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. cold — not warm
  11. pit — in a race
  12. branch — a division
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. bank — for money
  16. game — wild animals
  17. bank — for money
  18. game — a match
  19. bank — of a river
  20. present — a gift
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. cold — the Cold War

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