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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. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. file — a document
  4. tear — to rip
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. cell — in biology
  7. file — a line of people
  8. file — a tool
  9. branch — a division
  10. tear — from crying
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. tear — from crying
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. board — a committee
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. shower — to wash
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. pass — a permit
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. cell — a phone
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. shower — rain

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