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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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. cold — an illness
  3. fall — to drop
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. season — of the year
  9. cell — in biology
  10. bear — the animal
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. pitch — completely
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. fall — the season
  15. fall — to drop
  16. season — in sport
  17. cold — not warm
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. branch — a division
  20. stand — to bear
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. bear — the animal
  24. stand — on your feet

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