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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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. ground — crushed
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. shower — rain
  6. ground — a position
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. game — a match
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. ground — the earth
  11. roll — a cake
  12. shower — to wash
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. bulb — for light
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. roll — a list
  18. game — wild animals
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. bulb — for light
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. pass — a permit
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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