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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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. wound — an injury
  4. key — the most important part
  5. rule — government
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. prune — to trim
  8. cap — a lid
  9. prune — to trim
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. cap — a hat
  12. shower — to wash
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. branch — a division
  15. key — in music
  16. rule — a law
  17. hand — in cards
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. wound — an injury
  20. hand — help
  21. shower — rain
  22. key — for a lock
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. cap — of ice

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