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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. rush — hurry
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. current — of water
  6. branch — a division
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. current — happening now
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. current — electric
  12. roll — a list
  13. shower — rain
  14. ball — a dance
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. file — a tool
  18. file — a document
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. shower — to wash
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. file — a line of people
  24. roll — a cake

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