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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. cue — a signal
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. present — there
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. present — a gift
  10. fall — to drop
  11. cue — for pool
  12. fall — the season
  13. mate — a friend
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. saw — the tool
  16. present — the time now
  17. mate — a partner
  18. branch — a division
  19. fall — to drop
  20. shower — to wash
  21. shower — rain
  22. saw — the tool
  23. mate — to breed
  24. cue — a hint

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