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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 116 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 quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. board — a committee
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. rash — hasty
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. present — a gift
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. present — the time now
  9. perch — the fish
  10. board — to get on
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. stem — to come from
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. branch — a division
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. rash — a series
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. present — there

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