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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. shower — rain
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. squash — to crush
  5. file — a tool
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. rash — a series
  8. bulb — for light
  9. land — ground
  10. land — a country
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. bulb — for light
  13. rash — hasty
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. land — to come down
  17. shower — to wash
  18. scale — in music
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. file — a line of people
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. branch — a division
  23. file — a document
  24. squash — the sport

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