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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. hand — help
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. saw — the tool
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. current — happening now
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. current — of water
  9. hand — in cards
  10. saw — the tool
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. club — for golf
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. club — for dancing
  20. branch — a division
  21. club — a group
  22. current — electric
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. row — to paddle

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