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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. club — for golf
  3. branch — a division
  4. club — for dancing
  5. cue — a hint
  6. cold — not warm
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. game — a match
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. game — wild animals
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. club — a group
  15. cue — for pool
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. stand — to bear
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. cold — an illness
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. bear — the animal
  22. cue — a signal
  23. bear — the animal
  24. leaves — of a tree

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