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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. snap — to click
  6. branch — a division
  7. shower — to wash
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. shower — rain
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. court — of law
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. court — for sport
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. rule — a law
  20. court — of a king
  21. rock — a stone
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. rule — government
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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