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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. stand — for spectators
  3. lean — to bend
  4. shower — rain
  5. drill — a practice
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. drill — army training
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. hand — in cards
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. stand — to bear
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. branch — a division
  15. lean — thin
  16. bark — to shout
  17. drill — the tool
  18. hand — help
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. shower — to wash
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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