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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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. wind — moving air
  8. branch — a division
  9. hand — in cards
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. march — the month
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. shower — rain
  18. march — the month
  19. march — music
  20. wind — moving air
  21. hand — help
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. shower — to wash

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