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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. board — to get on
  3. fall — the season
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. pit — in a race
  9. fall — to drop
  10. fall — to drop
  11. chip — to eat
  12. shower — rain
  13. row — a line
  14. net — in sport
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. board — a committee
  17. branch — a division
  18. chip — for betting
  19. net — after costs
  20. net — for catching
  21. row — to paddle
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. pit — a hole

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