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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. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — for a computer
  2. wake — a trail
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. fall — the season
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. shower — to wash
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. fall — to drop
  12. degree — from a university
  13. fall — to drop
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. branch — a division
  18. degree — an amount
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. degree — temperature
  22. plane — a tool
  23. shower — rain
  24. straw — dry grass

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