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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. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. chip — for betting
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. rash — a series
  5. fall — to drop
  6. shower — to wash
  7. ground — crushed
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. chip — to eat
  10. ground — the earth
  11. cap — a hat
  12. fall — the season
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. rash — hasty
  15. cap — of ice
  16. ground — a position
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. plane — a tool
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. fall — to drop
  22. cap — a lid
  23. shower — rain
  24. chip — in a computer

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