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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 120 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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. file — a document
  4. file — a tool
  5. staff — employees
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. bear — the animal
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. row — to paddle
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. file — a line of people
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. staff — employees
  16. bear — the animal
  17. chest — a box
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. staff — a stick
  20. chest — of your body
  21. chest — of your body
  22. bat — the animal
  23. row — a line
  24. fan — to cool the air

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