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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. board — a committee
  3. board — to get on
  4. rush — hurry
  5. fall — to drop
  6. shower — to wash
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. drill — a practice
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. squash — the sport
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. squash — to crush
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. branch — a division
  18. fall — to drop
  19. drill — the tool
  20. ball — a dance
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. shower — rain
  23. ball — a great time
  24. drill — army training

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