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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. mug — to rob
  3. drill — a practice
  4. branch — a division
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. cold — not warm
  11. pop — to visit
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. lie — to recline
  14. mug — a face
  15. drill — army training
  16. pop — soda
  17. mug — a cup
  18. season — of the year
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. season — in sport
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. pop — music
  24. drill — the tool

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