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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. bear — the animal
  4. last — finally
  5. last — final
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. cold — an illness
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. wound — an injury
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. last — to go on
  16. cold — not warm
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. shower — to wash
  19. fork — in a road
  20. shower — rain
  21. bore — to drill
  22. branch — a division
  23. bore — to tire
  24. bear — the animal

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