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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 had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. branch — a division
  3. wound — an injury
  4. rash — hasty
  5. row — a line
  6. wound — an injury
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. shower — rain
  9. drill — the tool
  10. mine — for digging
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. shower — to wash
  13. drill — army training
  14. drill — a practice
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. rash — a series

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