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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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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: present · lie · scale · game · wake · branch · cold · season

  1. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. cold — an illness
  3. season — of the year
  4. game — wild animals
  5. wake — a trail
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. present — there
  12. lie — to recline
  13. scale — in music
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. game — a match
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. branch — a division
  19. scale — size or range
  20. cold — not warm
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. present — the time now
  23. season — in sport
  24. present — a gift

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