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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. shower — to wash
  3. branch — a division
  4. net — in sport
  5. net — for catching
  6. wax — to grow
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. pass — a permit
  10. present — there
  11. file — a document
  12. shower — rain
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. present — a gift
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. file — a tool
  20. file — a line of people
  21. present — the time now
  22. net — after costs
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. pass — to succeed

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