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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. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. shower — to wash
  3. drill — army training
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. field — a subject
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. shower — rain
  12. field — farmland
  13. chip — for betting
  14. drill — the tool
  15. branch — a division
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. field — for sport
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. drill — a practice
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. band — a music group
  24. band — a ring

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