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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. rest — a break
  3. branch — a division
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. shower — to wash
  7. rest — what's left
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. file — a tool
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. rest — what's left
  12. file — a line of people
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. shower — rain
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. wake — a trail
  18. file — a document

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