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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. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. shower — rain
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. row — a line
  7. cap — a hat
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. game — a match
  10. shower — to wash
  11. branch — a division
  12. cap — a lid
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. row — to paddle
  15. game — wild animals
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. cap — of ice
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. branch — of a bank

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