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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. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. season — in sport
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. wound — an injury
  5. mate — to breed
  6. cell — a phone
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. mate — a partner
  9. wound — an injury
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. cell — in biology
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. net — in sport
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. net — for catching
  19. season — of the year
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. branch — a division
  23. net — after costs
  24. pass — a permit

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