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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. prune — to trim
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. branch — a division
  5. degree — temperature
  6. degree — from a university
  7. wind — moving air
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. perch — the fish
  11. prune — to trim
  12. degree — an amount
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. plane — a tool
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. shower — to wash
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. wind — moving air
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. branch — of a tree

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