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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. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. tube — a container
  3. branch — a division
  4. tear — from crying
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. cold — not warm
  7. bank — of a river
  8. cold — an illness
  9. tear — from crying
  10. last — final
  11. tear — to rip
  12. season — of the year
  13. bank — for money
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. pitch — completely
  16. season — in sport
  17. tube — the underground
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. last — to go on
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. last — finally
  22. bank — for money
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. pitch — a sports field

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