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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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. branch — a division
  3. rash — a series
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. chair — a leader
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. hand — in cards
  10. hand — help
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. shower — to wash
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. rash — hasty
  18. shower — rain
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. wax — to grow

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