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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. shower — rain
  4. object — to protest
  5. fall — to drop
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. kid — to tease
  8. pop — to visit
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. craft — a skill
  11. fall — to drop
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. fall — the season
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. pop — music
  19. branch — a division
  20. object — an aim
  21. object — a thing
  22. pop — soda
  23. shower — to wash
  24. kid — child

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