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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 124 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. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. ball — a great time
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. dip — to sink
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. ball — a dance
  10. current — happening now
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. current — of water
  13. board — a committee
  14. board — to get on
  15. branch — a division
  16. bat — the animal
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. current — electric
  21. shower — rain
  22. sharp — clever
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. shower — to wash

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