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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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. season — in sport
  3. shower — to wash
  4. snap — to click
  5. last — finally
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. root — of a word
  9. last — to go on
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. shower — rain
  12. root — the cause
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. can — a tin
  15. last — final
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. branch — a division
  18. deal — to handle
  19. season — of the year
  20. root — of a plant
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. can — a tin

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