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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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. game — wild animals
  4. bore — to drill
  5. cell — a phone
  6. swing — in golf
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. branch — a division
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. scale — size or range
  11. swing — to play on
  12. bore — to tire
  13. swing — music
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. scale — in music
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. cell — in biology
  19. season — in sport
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. season — of the year
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. game — a match

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