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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. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. fall — the season
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. row — a line
  9. wind — moving air
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. row — to paddle
  12. wind — moving air
  13. bark — to shout
  14. branch — a division
  15. fall — to drop
  16. can — to be able to
  17. swing — in golf
  18. swing — to play on
  19. swing — music
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. can — a tin
  22. fall — to drop
  23. dip — to sink
  24. branch — of a bank

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