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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 124 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 got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. drill — a practice
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. row — a line
  7. drill — the tool
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. hand — help
  11. row — to paddle
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. shower — to wash
  14. wound — an injury
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. shower — rain
  18. wound — an injury
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. branch — a division
  23. drill — army training
  24. hide — to keep secret

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