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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. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. pass — a permit
  6. fall — the season
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. shower — to wash
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. fall — to drop
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. branch — a division
  15. fall — to drop
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. file — a document
  19. mine — for digging
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. file — a tool
  22. shower — rain
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. file — a line of people

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