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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 was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. land — ground
  4. shower — rain
  5. bear — the animal
  6. last — to go on
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. current — of water
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. last — final
  11. last — finally
  12. land — to come down
  13. shower — to wash
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. land — a country
  16. current — happening now
  17. current — electric
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. ball — a dance
  20. branch — a division
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. bear — the animal
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. kick — in football

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