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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. key — in music
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. wound — an injury
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. file — a line of people
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. file — a document
  11. wound — an injury
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. file — a tool
  14. branch — a division
  15. key — for a lock
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. shower — rain
  18. key — the most important part
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. shower — to wash

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