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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. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — decided
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. shower — to wash
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. current — happening now
  7. bat — the animal
  8. pitch — completely
  9. sharp — clever
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. firm — a company
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. branch — a division
  15. key — for a lock
  16. key — the most important part
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. shower — rain
  20. key — in music
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. current — electric
  23. current — of water
  24. firm — steady

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