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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. saw — the tool
  3. branch — a division
  4. saw — the tool
  5. march — music
  6. fall — to drop
  7. net — after costs
  8. rest — a break
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. rest — what's left
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. march — the month
  13. bear — the animal
  14. wound — an injury
  15. wound — an injury
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. net — in sport
  18. bear — the animal
  19. net — for catching
  20. march — the month
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. fall — the season
  23. fall — to drop
  24. rest — what's left

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