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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 120 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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. shower — to wash
  7. sharp — clever
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. branch — a division
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. season — in sport
  20. shower — rain
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. season — of the year
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. racket — for tennis

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