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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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. file — a document
  5. shower — to wash
  6. hand — help
  7. net — after costs
  8. file — a line of people
  9. net — in sport
  10. hand — in cards
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. branch — a division
  13. shower — rain
  14. firm — decided
  15. firm — a company
  16. net — for catching
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. scale — in music
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. firm — steady
  21. file — a tool
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. scale — size or range
  24. fine — high quality

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