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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 felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. shower — to wash
  3. bank — for money
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. chest — of your body
  6. chest — a box
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. wound — an injury
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. wound — an injury
  12. object — an aim
  13. bank — of a river
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. bank — for money
  16. branch — a division
  17. wind — moving air
  18. shower — rain
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. object — a thing
  21. wind — moving air
  22. object — to protest
  23. deal — to handle
  24. deal — a big deal

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