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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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. row — to paddle
  4. mug — to rob
  5. last — final
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. row — a line
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. plane — a tool
  10. bear — the animal
  11. last — to go on
  12. shower — rain
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. branch — a division
  15. last — finally
  16. mug — a face
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. mug — a cup
  20. march — the month
  21. march — music
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. march — the month
  24. bear — the animal

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