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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. shower — to wash
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. plane — a tool
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. shower — rain
  14. branch — a division
  15. pound — a weight
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. wake — a trail
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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