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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. squash — the sport
  6. hand — in cards
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. craft — boats
  9. shower — to wash
  10. chip — for betting
  11. net — after costs
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. hand — help
  14. rush — hurry
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. squash — to crush
  17. chip — to eat
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. net — in sport
  21. craft — a skill
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. branch — a division
  24. net — for catching

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