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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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. shower — to wash
  3. shower — rain
  4. key — for a lock
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. rest — what's left
  8. rest — a break
  9. rest — what's left
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. key — the most important part
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. key — in music
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. pitch — completely
  18. scale — size or range
  19. wind — moving air
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. bark — to shout
  22. scale — in music
  23. wind — moving air
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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