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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 120 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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. shower — rain
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. race — humankind
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. shower — to wash
  7. net — for catching
  8. net — after costs
  9. branch — a division
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. row — to paddle
  12. pitch — completely
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. present — the time now
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. race — the arms race
  18. present — a gift
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. race — a contest
  23. net — in sport
  24. present — there

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