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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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. cue — for pool
  4. last — finally
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. branch — a division
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. cue — a hint
  10. rash — a series
  11. last — final
  12. cue — a signal
  13. shower — rain
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. rash — hasty
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. last — to go on
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. shower — to wash
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. straw — dry grass

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