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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 120 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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. last — final
  3. branch — a division
  4. ball — a dance
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. row — to paddle
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. staff — employees
  11. staff — a stick
  12. last — finally
  13. ball — a great time
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. last — to go on
  16. bat — the animal
  17. shower — to wash
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. row — a line
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. shower — rain
  24. trunk — of a car

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