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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. kick — in football
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. march — the month
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. branch — a division
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. field — farmland
  11. wake — a trail
  12. field — for sport
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. lean — to bend
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. dip — to sink
  18. field — a subject
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. march — music
  22. lean — thin
  23. shower — to wash
  24. march — the month

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