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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. fall — the season
  3. fall — to drop
  4. chip — for betting
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. fork — in a road
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. sharp — clever
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. wind — moving air
  14. chip — to eat
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. wind — moving air
  18. branch — a division
  19. content — happy
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. season — of the year
  22. fall — to drop
  23. content — the amount
  24. season — in sport

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