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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. shower — rain
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. rash — hasty
  5. staff — employees
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. shower — to wash
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. bat — the animal
  11. rash — a series
  12. staff — employees
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. clip — for paper
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. staff — a stick
  19. clip — to cut
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. clip — a video

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