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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. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. shower — to wash
  4. branch — a division
  5. rash — a series
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. chair — a leader
  9. shower — rain
  10. scale — in music
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. scale — size or range
  14. can — a tin
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. rash — hasty
  17. can — a tin
  18. file — a line of people
  19. can — to be able to
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. file — a tool
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. straw — a straw man

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