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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: branch · pit · wake · cold · fine · present · mine · last

  1. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. mine — for digging
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. wake — a trail
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. present — the time now
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. fine — high quality
  10. pit — a hole
  11. cold — an illness
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. fine — all right
  14. present — a gift
  15. present — there
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. pit — in a race
  18. cold — not warm
  19. last — finally
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. last — to go on
  23. last — final
  24. branch — of a tree

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