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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. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. spell — letters
  3. chip — for betting
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. spell — magic
  7. branch — a division
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. wind — moving air
  10. row — a line
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. spell — a short time
  13. wound — an injury
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. chip — to eat
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. wind — moving air
  18. wound — an injury
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. row — to paddle
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. saw — the tool
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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