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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. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a tree
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. clip — to cut
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. shower — rain
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. swing — in golf
  12. pop — soda
  13. branch — a division
  14. swing — to play on
  15. clip — for paper
  16. land — ground
  17. pop — to visit
  18. pop — music
  19. clip — a video
  20. land — to come down
  21. swing — music
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. land — a country
  24. shower — to wash

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