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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 120 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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. fine — high quality
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. branch — a division
  7. drill — the tool
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. court — of law
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. season — of the year
  12. rush — hurry
  13. court — of a king
  14. drill — army training
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. season — in sport
  18. chest — of your body
  19. fine — all right
  20. chest — of your body
  21. court — for sport
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. drill — a practice

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