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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. clip — for paper
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. bank — for money
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. branch — a division
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. shower — rain
  13. stand — to bear
  14. bank — for money
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. bank — of a river
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. clip — a video
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. clip — to cut

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