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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 120 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 ________________ with my boss today.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. rash — hasty
  8. season — of the year
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. season — in sport
  11. bore — to drill
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. bore — to tire
  14. rash — a series
  15. row — a line
  16. dip — to sink
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. branch — a division
  21. row — to paddle
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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