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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. wound — an injury
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. tube — a container
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. branch — a division
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. spring — of water
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. fall — to drop
  14. fall — the season
  15. wound — an injury
  16. tube — the underground
  17. spring — the season
  18. bore — to tire
  19. fall — to drop
  20. pitch — completely
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. bore — to drill
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. spring — a coil

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