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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 124 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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. mine — for digging
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. tear — to rip
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. tear — from crying
  10. tear — from crying
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. current — happening now
  13. shower — to wash
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. rash — hasty
  16. current — electric
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. rash — a series
  20. current — of water
  21. shower — rain
  22. branch — a division
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. mine — an explosive

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