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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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. mine — for digging
  9. bore — to tire
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. cold — not warm
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. shower — rain
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. bore — to drill
  16. cold — an illness
  17. wind — moving air
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. shower — to wash
  22. wind — moving air
  23. dip — to sink
  24. wind — to turn a key

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