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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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. bound — tied together
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. wake — a trail
  5. charge — electricity
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. sharp — clever
  8. cold — an illness
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. branch — a division
  11. bound — certain
  12. charge — in control
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. dip — to sink
  16. charge — a price
  17. wind — moving air
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. bound — obliged
  20. cold — not warm
  21. wind — moving air
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. dip — to dunk

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