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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 116 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 dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. land — ground
  3. shower — to wash
  4. file — a line of people
  5. land — a country
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. shower — rain
  8. file — a document
  9. hand — help
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. prune — to trim
  12. hand — in cards
  13. prune — to trim
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. land — to come down
  20. pitch — completely
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. branch — a division
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. file — a tool

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