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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. mate — a friend
  3. root — the cause
  4. spring — a coil
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. spring — the season
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. fall — to drop
  9. shower — rain
  10. fall — to drop
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. branch — a division
  13. mate — a partner
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. root — of a plant
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. spring — of water
  20. lean — to bend
  21. lean — thin
  22. mate — to breed
  23. fall — the season
  24. root — of a word

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