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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. ground — the earth
  3. fall — to drop
  4. fall — to drop
  5. rush — hurry
  6. spell — letters
  7. shower — rain
  8. spell — magic
  9. shower — to wash
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. sharp — clever
  12. spell — a short time
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. chair — a leader
  18. branch — a division
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. ground — a position
  22. ground — crushed
  23. fall — the season
  24. branch — of a tree

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