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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. shower — to wash
  3. pound — a weight
  4. spring — a coil
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. rest — what's left
  8. row — a line
  9. row — to paddle
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. deal — to handle
  12. net — after costs
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. rest — a break
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. rest — what's left
  18. net — for catching
  19. net — in sport
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. spring — the season
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. branch — a division
  24. shower — rain

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