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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. shower — to wash
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. cell — a phone
  11. pound — a weight
  12. present — there
  13. plane — a tool
  14. shower — rain
  15. present — a gift
  16. present — the time now
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. cell — in biology
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. branch — a division
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. calf — a young animal

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