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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. rush — hurry
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. field — farmland
  5. craft — boats
  6. lean — thin
  7. lean — to bend
  8. shower — to wash
  9. field — for sport
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. shower — rain
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. hand — help
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. branch — a division
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. craft — a skill
  19. hand — in cards
  20. field — a subject
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. pitcher — a jug

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