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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. swing — music
  3. march — the month
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. court — for sport
  7. march — the month
  8. swing — to play on
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. pound — a weight
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. bore — to drill
  14. bore — to tire
  15. court — of law
  16. court — of a king
  17. swing — in golf
  18. march — music
  19. shower — to wash
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. mine — for digging
  23. branch — a division
  24. branch — of a tree

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