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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. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. He has no idea where the ________________ is.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. branch — a division
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. shower — to wash
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. wound — an injury
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. band — a ring
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. pitch — completely
  16. shower — rain
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. wound — an injury
  23. band — a music group
  24. safe — a strongbox

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