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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. shower — rain
  3. branch — a division
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. ball — a dance
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. cold — not warm
  11. ball — a great time
  12. cold — an illness
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. land — a country
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. capital — money
  18. land — ground
  19. land — to come down
  20. ruler — a monarch
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. capital — a city
  24. cold — the Cold War

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