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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. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. lie — an untruth
  2. bulb — for light
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. drill — army training
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. shower — rain
  8. cold — not warm
  9. branch — a division
  10. fork — in a road
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. lie — to recline
  13. shower — to wash
  14. bulb — for light
  15. board — a committee
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. cold — an illness
  18. board — to get on
  19. drill — a practice
  20. drill — the tool
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. board — a flat piece

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