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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  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. straw — a straw man
  2. branch — a division
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. rash — a series
  5. last — final
  6. file — a line of people
  7. shower — rain
  8. deal — to handle
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. last — to go on
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. file — a document
  15. last — finally
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. rash — hasty
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. shower — to wash
  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