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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. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. cold — an illness
  6. season — of the year
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. cell — a phone
  9. branch — a division
  10. cell — in biology
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. prune — to trim
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. bank — for money
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. bank — of a river
  17. prune — to trim
  18. season — in sport
  19. swing — to play on
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. swing — music
  22. cold — not warm
  23. bank — for money
  24. season — to add flavour

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