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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. game — a match
  4. shower — to wash
  5. last — to go on
  6. firm — decided
  7. game — wild animals
  8. branch — a division
  9. bear — the animal
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. last — finally
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. firm — a company
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. shower — rain
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. kick — in football
  21. bear — the animal
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. last — final
  24. firm — steady

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