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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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. board — a committee
  3. row — to paddle
  4. branch — a division
  5. mine — for digging
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. degree — from a university
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. hand — in cards
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. row — a line
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. shower — to wash
  17. degree — temperature
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. degree — an amount
  20. board — to get on
  21. hand — help
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. shower — rain
  24. hand — part of the body

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