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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 ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. club — for dancing
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. wind — moving air
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. roll — a list
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. capital — money
  12. roll — a cake
  13. wind — moving air
  14. shower — rain
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. branch — a division
  17. club — a group
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. shower — to wash
  21. capital — a city
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. club — for golf
  24. foot — a measure

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