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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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. swing — to play on
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. shower — to wash
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. fine — all right
  9. squash — to crush
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. fine — high quality
  12. swing — in golf
  13. perch — the fish
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. rash — hasty
  17. rash — a series
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. swing — music
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. squash — the sport
  24. shower — rain

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