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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 dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. field — for sport
  5. shower — to wash
  6. scale — size or range
  7. field — farmland
  8. rock — a stone
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. field — a subject
  12. rock — music
  13. branch — a division
  14. tear — to rip
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. tear — from crying
  21. shower — rain
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. scale — in music
  24. tear — from crying

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