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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. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. can — a tin
  6. wind — moving air
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. wind — moving air
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. land — ground
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. can — to be able to
  16. fine — all right
  17. cold — an illness
  18. land — to come down
  19. fine — high quality
  20. cold — not warm
  21. land — a country
  22. branch — a division
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. cabinet — ministers

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