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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 120 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. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. branch — of a tree
  3. mark — a trace
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. rest — what's left
  6. branch — a division
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. fall — to drop
  9. fall — to drop
  10. wound — an injury
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. mark — a grade
  13. shower — to wash
  14. bulb — for light
  15. rest — what's left
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. shower — rain
  21. fork — in a road
  22. wound — an injury
  23. fall — the season
  24. bulb — for light

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