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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. object — to protest
  4. shower — rain
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. bat — the animal
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. object — an aim
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. object — a thing
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. shower — to wash
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. row — a line
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. row — to paddle
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. branch — a division
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. racket — a loud noise

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