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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 116 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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. firm — a company
  3. branch — a division
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. firm — steady
  6. spell — letters
  7. firm — decided
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. present — a gift
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. bound — tied together
  12. fall — the season
  13. mine — for digging
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. present — there
  16. fall — to drop
  17. present — the time now
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. fall — to drop
  21. bound — certain
  22. spell — a short time
  23. bound — obliged
  24. spell — magic

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