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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. branch — a division
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. chip — to eat
  5. net — after costs
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. net — in sport
  8. wake — a trail
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. cap — of ice
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. bore — to tire
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. bore — to drill
  15. chip — for betting
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. rush — hurry
  18. net — for catching
  19. cap — a hat
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. cap — a lid
  23. shower — rain
  24. shower — to wash

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