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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. file — a line of people
  4. shower — rain
  5. branch — a division
  6. file — a document
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. chair — a leader
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. pound — a weight
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. wind — moving air
  19. file — a tool
  20. shower — to wash
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. pound — to hit hard

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