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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 120 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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. shower — to wash
  3. wind — moving air
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. ball — a great time
  6. branch — a division
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. ball — a dance
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. race — humankind
  13. stem — to come from
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. race — the arms race
  16. wind — moving air
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. shower — rain
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. race — a contest

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