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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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. shower — rain
  3. spring — of water
  4. content — the amount
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. branch — a division
  7. content — happy
  8. can — a tin
  9. mug — a face
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. spring — the season
  12. can — to be able to
  13. spring — a coil
  14. mug — a cup
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. bass — low music
  17. can — a tin
  18. mug — to rob
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. shower — to wash
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. patient — a sick person

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