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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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. sharp — clever
  4. wind — moving air
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. spell — magic
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. mate — a partner
  10. foot — a measure
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. mate — a friend
  14. mate — to breed
  15. shower — rain
  16. shower — to wash
  17. spell — letters
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. row — a line
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. branch — a division
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. wind — moving air
  24. spell — a short time

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