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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. root — the cause
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. current — of water
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. cold — not warm
  9. root — of a plant
  10. cold — an illness
  11. board — a committee
  12. shower — to wash
  13. board — to get on
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. fall — to drop
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. current — electric
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. branch — a division
  21. fall — the season
  22. fall — to drop
  23. current — happening now
  24. root — of a word

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