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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. shower — to wash
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. present — the time now
  5. cue — a signal
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. row — to paddle
  8. kick — in football
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. cue — for pool
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. stem — to come from
  17. cue — a hint
  18. snap — to click
  19. present — a gift
  20. shower — rain
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. present — there
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. row — a line

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